One of the two power generators being built at Hwange Thermal Power Station was successfully turned on for the first time on Tuesday, bringing the country closer to producing an additional 300 megawatts.
The additional power, expected to be fed into the national grid before the end of the year, is premised on easing power shortages in the country.
The 300 MW unit is part of two generators making up the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8 Expansion Project being undertaken by Chinese firm Sinohydro under a facility from China Eximbank.
When complete, the two units are expected to produce a combined 600 MW. The second unit is due for commissioning in early 2023.
In a brief update, the contractor tweeted:
Hwange Expansion Project successfully completed the rolling of number 7 unit of steam turbine at rated 3000rpm (3000 revolutions per minute) on November 15, 2022 for the first time.
Rolling means getting the steam turbine to rotate in order to produce electricity.
In an earlier update, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) said the new 300 Megawatts from Hwange would not be immediately fed into the grid, said ZPC in its quarterly production update. Read the update:
The Hwange Expansion Project Unit 7 is expected to be synchronised to the grid by the end of this year.
The Deka upgradation project is 71.2 percent complete and on track to be completed by March 31, 2023. The pipes have been laid in the order of thickness for the entire 42km. Since then, pipe welding has begun.
Zimbabwe currently faces a huge power deficit due to old generating plants and low water volumes at Kariba Dam, where the country’s biggest power plant is situated.
Apart from building new power plants, other initiatives to increase electricity generation in the country are being pursued, including refurbishing the old Hwange thermal plant.
ZPC secured US$310 million from the Export-Import Bank of India to rehabilitate Hwange Power Station. The rehabilitation of the ageing thermal power plant shall be done in three phases. It is projected that the work on the refurbishment will begin in the third quarter of 2023.