Zimbabwean company Optate Africa plans to build a 200MW wind power plant near the town of Plumtree in the south-west of the nation. It has sought a 25-year lease from Mangwe Rural District Council for 100ha of land to set up the plant.

Optate Africa is running the project in partnership with GE, a turbine manufacturing and development company that will help with the technical details of financing and constructing the wind farm.

Zimbabwe has recently ramped up renewable forms of energy. In 2022, the government revived plans to integrate wind power into the national energy mix as it sought to combat domestic power deficits and prepare for anticipated growth in power demand. This came after the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority halted a wind energy feasibility study in 2018 due to private companies’ bids exceeding the estimated budget.

The government’s aim, set out under the Zimbabwe National Renewable Energy Policy, is to produce 1.1GW of renewable energy by 2025, making up 16.5% of overall capacity.

Optate Africa said that part of the power generated by the project will be sold to the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC). It said: “A fraction of the power generated by the project will be sold to ZETDC under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement and the other part will be supplied to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

“Wind power does not produce harmful emissions or hazardous waste, it does not deplete natural resources, nor does it cause environmental damage through resource extraction, transport and waste management,” Optate Africa added.

The wind farm is likely to be subject to an environmental impact assessment by the Environmental Management Agency to ensure its construction does not damage flora and fauna.

The NGO Sustainable Energy for All said that while Zimbabwe has huge renewable energy resource potential, it is currently being constrained by dire economic circumstances. Inflation rose to 34.8% in January in the southern African nation.