Through a Memorandum of Understanding, Hydrogène de France (HDF Energy) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) have formalised their joint objective to supply Zimbabwe with the country’s first high-power green hydrogen power plant.
This Memorandum of Understanding establishes a framework for the collaborative technical and administrative work necessary to complete the development of Zimbabwe’s first green hydrogen power plant investment and to commercialise its electricity and grid services through a specific Power Purchase Agreement.
Middle Sabi Renewstable
The Middle Sabi Renewstable is being built by HDF Energy in Zimbabwe’s Chipinge District of the Manicaland Province. The project is situated in Zimbabwe’s southeast, a great distance from the northwest, which is home to the majority of the nation’s generation assets. Advantages result from putting the production of reliable and dispatchable renewable energy closer to the centres of demand load. This lowers transmission losses and improves local residents’ access to electricity.
The facility, which is 4 km from the project site, will create green energy continuously and feed it into the grid through the Middle Sabi Substation. More than 220,000 people will have access to electricity thanks to the 178 GWh of annual production.
The multi-project, multi-technology, multi-investor Chipangayi Renewable Energy Technology Park is where Middle Sabi Renewstable is being developed. Since 2016, RETPark has been under construction. To enable quick growth of tenant investments, RETPark has secured the necessary first permits and studies.
Green hydrogen skills
Additionally, the collaboration between HDF Energy and ZETDC will jump-start the development of technical green hydrogen skills in Zimbabwe as well as the implementation of green hydrogen investments. This investment will significantly help Manicaland, a province in Zimbabwe with one of the lowest GDPs per capita, build its economy. By both direct and indirect local job creation, as well as HDF’s corporate and social responsibility efforts, the local community’s quality of life will be improved.
