Staff Writer
Sable Solar Energy (Sable) says it has completed feasibility studies for the 50-megawatt renewable energy project in Sherwood set to be fed into the national grid.
The project, being developed by a consortium including JCM Power Corporation, Tatanga Energy and Masawara Mauritius, is located at the Sable Chemicals industrial complex in Sherwood.
The special purpose vehicle was established by Tatanga Energy and Masawara to develop, finance, construct, own and operate the Sable Solar Energy power plant.
The firm announced that feasibility studies have been completed to determine the most cost-effective and technically feasible route for the solar generation plant.
“The electricity generated from the project will be fed into the national grid via a loop in, loop out connection to the existing 88kV transmission line that runs from the Sable Chemicals substation to the Sherwood substation 5km away from the solar plant site,” the project developers said on Monday.
The project site is located nearly 200 km from Harare and about 20 km north of Kwekwe off the Harare – Bulawayo highway in the Midlands Province.
The major components of the project include civil works to clear and level the site, construction of switchgear and control rooms, construction of a transformer yard, the setting up of photovoltaic arrays, inverters and transformers, collector boxes and trenching for power and communication cables.
Sable Solar Energy engaged Tailjet Consultancy Services to undertake the independent environmental and social impact assessment study.
The electricity generated from the project will be sold to ZETDC under a long-term power purchase agreement.
The project site was selected for several reasons. The land around the Sable Chemicals facility sits within an area of high solar irradiance, which is important for the efficiency of the project.
The company said there is sufficient land within the Sable Chemicals’ land bank to accommodate both the Sable Solar Energy project and the planned 400 MW Sable Solar Park, which Tatanga Energy and Masawara intend to develop in phases over the coming years.
The site also benefits from access to existing infrastructure, including road and rail access, which will facilitate transportation of equipment and materials during construction), transmission grid connections (both at the Sable Chemicals’ facility and the nearby Sherwood substation), and utility connections.
The Sable Solar Energy project secured a power generation license from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority in March 2019.