Germany's Soventix GmbH will build a 22 MW solar power plant in Zimbabwe, which the company calls the 'largest IPP solar PV project' in the country. It won the contract to develop this project through its subsidiary Soventix South Africa.
The 22 MW Harava project will be developed on 22 hectares in Bwoni village, Seke Rural district in the southwest of the city of Harare. Soventix SA plans to use 66,528 solar modules and 192 string inverters for the project, along with constructing a 30 MVA substation, which it says will be large enough to cater for phase two of the project.
Installation is planned to start in October 2018, and on completion the project is expected to generate 40 GWh annually. Funded by Botswana based clean energy investor and independent power producer Invest Solar Africa Limited, the 22 MW project enjoys financial backing from top tier financial institutions from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.
Once the project is commissioned, local Bwoni community will own 10% through a Community Development Share Ownership Trust.
Zimbabwe is seeing a lot of activity on the solar front of late, with plans for several big PV plants on the anvil. Private consulting firm Southpole, for example, is interested in setting up a 125 MW PV project in Woodlands Estate, Victoria Falls, and has applied for an IPP licence from Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) (see 125 MW PV Project Plan For Zimbabwe). Zimbabwe Power Company, a local utility, is looking at setting up three projects of 100 MW each (see Zimbabwe Utility Plans 300 MW PV).
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