As blackouts continue to plunge businesses and households into darkness, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is turning to solar power to secure its electricity supply. Caroline Sandura, Chairman of the ZSE Board of Directors, recently inaugurated a small 40 kVA solar photovoltaic power plant in Harare.
According to Justin Bgoni, managing director of the ZSE, the project to install a solar center at the stock exchange aims to adopt a cleaner, affordable and reliable source of energy, “given the need to keep the trading servers up and running at all times”. The installation will thus enable the exchange to secure its power supply in a context marked by load shedding, which hampers the operation of companies.
The obsolescence of electricity production and distribution facilities means that load shedding is part of daily life for both households and businesses. Faced with this situation, many companies are turning to solar power, a clean, easy-to-install energy source. One such company is Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the subsidiary of the telecommunications group Econet Wireless, which has installed a 466 kWp solar photovoltaic system at its headquarters in Harare. The installation enables Econet Wireless Zimbabwe to become more independent from the Zimbabwean national power grid.
Zimbabwe’s electricity production deficit is such that the state-owned Electricity Transmission And Distribution Company (ZETDC) will now purchase the surplus electricity produced by individuals and businesses. This will require the purchase of a source inverter, as well as a smart meter to measure the energy consumed and the energy supplied to the ZETDC grid.
Jean Marie Takouleu