eBusiness Weekly
Golden Sibanda
Ecomet Wireless Zimbabwe subsidiary, Distributed Power Africa (DPA), which has invested $250 million into rolling out its project of installing solar power systems on client premises, says it is targeting cumulative installed capacity output of 100 megawatts in the next two to three years.
As opposed to fossil fuels, which draw on finite resources that may eventually become too expensive to retrieve, renewable energy is generally unlimited in availability. Solar power generation, as alternative source of energy, has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing renewable sources of electricity.
Chief executive Divyajeet Mahajan, said that DPA already had 50MW solar projects on its order book, for cheaper alternative source of power, which it intends to install for commercial and industrial customers, but is targeting taking domestic orders by end of this year.
“We are targeting commercial and industrial clients first. We have already made an investment of $250 million, we are already targeting that investment in Zimbabwe over the next two to three years, which means around 100MW in the next two to three years” Mahajan said.
The Econet Wireless’ subsidiary has started with large consumers of power given their demand for energy that suits solar power systems better and their great requirement comes between sunrise and sunset whereas domestic users require energy mostly after sunset.
DPA, he said, they had already started rolling out the project by installing the solar power system on Econet Wireless buildings, specifically the headquarters in Msasa as well as the mobile telecoms giant’s call centre in Granitesite.
“We have started with our internal buildings. Our first plant, Graniteside, which is 100 kilowatts, is up and running, it was commissioned in February and our second plant, which is Msasa headquarters, is under construction and in the next two weeks it will be up and running.”
Thereafter, Mahajan said that DPA will move on to install the solar system on other Econet Wireless buildings across the country together with orders placed by external clients, “which we are targeting to install in the next three to four months”.
“We already have in the pipeline orders for 50MW and we are talking to all big commercial and industrial players to go solar because that is the next big thing for the solar industry,” Mahajan said.
He said the price of solar systems had reduced by 60 percent to 70 percent in the last five to six years and it would make sense for those with unoccupied rooftops or carport to install solar in order to harness solar energy.
The installation can provide for an integrated systems that allows both solar and grid power to work simultaneously, with grid power filling up demand deficit or taking over once the solar system output drops drastically.
Mahajan said the solar system can have a lifespan of up to 25 years, during which users could derive significant cost savings, given grid power at 15 cents and generators at 30 cents, per kilowatt hour, were very costly. He said this was against the fact that “the solar radiation in Zimbabwe was one of the best in the world”.
Mahajan said he difference in cost between solar and grid power depended on the size of the solar power system; systems of 1MW and larger yielded greater benefits compared to systems of less yield capacity.
Solar also made sense if taken in the sense that most big corporate had sustainability goals and looking for clean energy.
