75MW net-metered into national power grid

Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

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Martin Kadzere

About 75 megawatts (MW) of net-metered solar power are now feeding into the grid, with the Government aiming to increase the amount by encouraging more individuals and companies to ramp up investments in solar energy production and adopt net metering, Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo has said.

Minister Moyo noted the growing trend of self-generated solar power by companies and individuals and urged those producing it to utilise net metering, thereby feeding surplus energy into the grid.

In 2019, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), a unit of State power utility ZESA Holdings, introduced the net metering programme, a scheme where households and businesses generating solar energy can feed the excess power into the ZETDC network through grid-tied inverter.

Zimbabwe has since expanded its net metering regulations, allowing individuals and corporations to feed up to 5MW of excess solar power into the national grid, a significant increase from the previous 100kW limit.

The initiative, governed by Statutory Instrument 38 of 2022, enables grid-tied solar system owners to offset their electricity bills with power credits contributed to ZESA.

Instead of direct monetary compensation, domestic customers receive 0,8kWh bill credit for each kWh fed into the grid, while industrial customers receive 0,85kWh. The programme aims to boost renewable energy adoption, enhance energy security and reduce reliance on power imports.

“Right now, they (ZESA) were saying 75MW is coming from net metering,” said Minister Moyo while addressing an inaugural competitive summit hosted by the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) in Bulawayo recently. “But we think that most of you, if I (may ask) by lifting your hands, those who have solar and those who are net metering, I think (there are) fewer of you.

“Yet there is a lot of room for our net metering. We have now said to ZESA, make sure that everybody, big or small, can net metre. If you have solar (at your business), please make sure that you do net metering.

“If you have solar at your house, and you (are) not using it, mostly during the day, that is when we need more power during the day for industries, do your net metering,” Minister Moyo added.

Solar energy adoption is increasing significantly across Zimbabwe, with 30 percent of households now utilising off-grid electricity solutions, according to the 2022 Population and Housing Census Report, which examined housing characteristics and living conditions nationwide.

The census revealed that approximately 1,1 million individuals in Zimbabwe rely on off-grid power, representing nearly one-third of the country’s households.

A significant portion of the off-grid usage, 78,7 percent, is concentrated in rural areas, the report noted. In comparison, 34 percent of Zimbabwean households are connected to the national electricity grid, while 38 percent remain without any access to electricity.

Urban areas with new settlements are also turning to rooftop solar due to power and infrastructure gaps. However, the infrastructure gaps mean the excess power can not be fed into the national grid, despite the country facing acute shortages.

Zimbabwe’s National Renewable Energy Policy set a goal of 1 100MW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2025, representing 16,5 percent of the country’s total electricity supply.

While this target may seem conservative when considering the capacity of officially registered corporate solar power plants, observers suggest the actual figure could be significantly higher.

This is due to the prevalence of numerous unregistered individual solar installations, and a comprehensive validation of household solar generation could reveal a much larger contribution.