HARARE — Turk Mine is buying solar-generated electricity at 8 cents per unit compared with 19 cents charged by ZESA, highlighting the potential cost savings for large electricity consumers investing in renewable energy, a parliamentary committee has reported.

The Senate’s Thematic Committee on Peace and Security said the Bubi-based mine operates a 4.4-megawatt solar plant covering 67 hectares on a rehabilitated tailings dam.

The plant was commissioned in 2021 under a build-operate-transfer arrangement with Kenya-based Equator.

“Solar purchased at 8c/unit vs 19c/unit from ZESA — significant savings,” the committee said in its report.

The committee said the solar project had also delivered environmental benefits, including saving 116.8 million litres of water and avoiding the use of 5,453 kilograms of coal annually.

Despite the savings, Turk Mine remains dependent on the national electricity grid at night because its solar facility does not generate power outside daylight hours.

The mine also faces regulatory challenges in feeding surplus electricity into the national grid.

“ZESA billing not cleared for net metering; tariff agreement with ZERA pending,” the committee reported.

Security has also emerged as a challenge for the solar investment.

The committee said 72 solar panels were stolen shortly after the facility was commissioned.

Turk Mine was among mining operations visited by the committee as it examined the contribution of renewable energy to Zimbabwe’s electricity security.

The committee said Turk Mine and Blanket Mine in Gwanda demonstrated how mining companies were increasingly integrating renewable energy into their captive power supplies.

It said Turk Mine’s solar facility had delivered savings of up to 25% on ZESA bills during peak solar generation.

However, both mines told the committee that the national grid remained indispensable despite their investment in solar.

They cited deteriorating electricity infrastructure, tariffs that were high compared with regional benchmarks, unresolved net-metering arrangements and other regulatory challenges as obstacles to greater renewable-energy use.

The committee said weaknesses in Zimbabwe’s transmission and distribution infrastructure, coupled with high electricity tariffs and foreign currency constraints, were undermining private investment and limiting the contribution of independent power producers to the national grid.