Zimbabwe has proposed incentives to accelerate 1 000 MW of privately owned solar energy projects worth about $1-billion, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced on Monday, as the country scrambles to plug an electricity deficit that threatens to compound its economic woes. The southern African country is currently generating about a third of its 2 000 MW peak power demand and experiencing up to 18 hours of power outages daily after its main Kariba hydropower plant cut electricity generation due to low water levels. The country’s ageing coal plants are prone to frequent breakdowns, impacting mines, industry and households.
