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US$300m HDF Energy deal headlines renewable conference

A US$300 million deal signed between French independent power producer HDF Energy and the Zimbabwe Electricity transmission Development Company (ZETDC) to build Zimbabwe’s first green hydrogen energy plant in 2024 headlined the 4th International Renewable Energy Conference and Expo.

The project, Middle Sabi Renewstable, will be developed in Chipinge’s Chipangayi Renewable Energy Technology Park, the multi-technology, and multi-investor park that has been under development since 2016.

The project has obtained all the initial permits and concluded studies to allow for fast development of tenant investments.

The signing was witnessed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the patron of the conference, which focuses on renewable energy as his Second Republic nudges the country towards clean energy by 2030.

“The electricity demand in the country is very high, in part because of the growth in demand by the productive sector, a positive sign for Zimbabwe’s future,” said Nicolas Lecomte, HDF Director for Southern and East Africa, after signing an MoU with ZETDC on Thursday.

“HDF expect to reach financial close on the project and start construction in 2024/2025.”

Engineer John Diya, the ZETDC technical director,who signed on behalf of the power utility said: “This is an encouraging milestone for ZETDC as it comes at a time when the Government is encouraging the transition to renewable energy.”

HDF Energy is developing several other multi-million-euro projects of this kind in various areas of the world such as Indonesia, Mexico, Australia, and Barbados.

In Africa, HDF has projects in South Africa and Namibia. It expects its green hydrogen power plant in Namibia, Africa’s first, to start producing electricity by 2024.

The planned HDF plant will produce green power for the national grid through the Middle Sabi Substation located 4km from the project site.

The annual electric production will be 178 GWh, providing electricity to more than 220,000 inhabitants, the company said in a statement.

Such power plants use solar panels to power electrolysers that produce hydrogen that can be stored.

HDF, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Bordeaux, France, operates on five continents and has a portfolio of projects worth over US$5.4 billion.

4TH INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE AND

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2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

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