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plants, the state-owned power company said, countries, where the promise of subsidized companies. These investments have improved
Bloomberg reported. development was a draw for governments to access to energy for more than 7mn people
Power supplies will continue to be welcome Chinese investment. and reduced emissions by more than 700,000
curtailed countrywide from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. tonnes of CO2 per year.
and between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Zimbabwe Among the companies benefiting from
Electricity Supply Authority said in an SunFunder’s funding is Daystar Power, a
emailed statement. SOL AR company created by German solar specialists
The southern African country hasn’t Christian Wessels and Jasper Graf von
experienced power cuts since the end of Swedfund to invest $12mn Hardenberg in association with Africa
March due to reduced demand from effects of Venture Builder, a company that invests in
the coronavirus. Zimbabwe has 2,100MWof in sub-Saharan solar many economic sectors, including renewable
installed capacity at power plants and energy.
generates an average of 1,200MW. Swedfund, the Swedish government’s financial In February 2020, the off-grid solar system
institution, is investing $12mn in Solar provider received $4mn from SunFunder
Energy Transformation (SET), an investment to supply 3 MWp of electricity to Nigerian
fund managed by SunFunder. The funds are companies, against a backdrop of deficiencies
COAL intended to finance solar photovoltaic (off- in the national power grid.
grid) energy suppliers in sub-Saharan Africa. SWEDFUND
Zimbabwe Oks Chinese coal will help to improve access to electricity, as Senegal makes PV VAT
According to Swedfund, the investment
mining pact at top game well as increase the production of renewable expempt
energy for people in the world’s least
reserve developed countries according to the list The Senegalese Ministry of Energy has
of the Development Assistance Committee
Zimbabwe is risking the environment and (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic introduced a VAT exemption for PV products
wildlife in its biggest game park after the Cooperation and Development (OECD). when connected to an off-grid project. The
government, already battling to explain the “This investment gives us, as a new measure was promulgated on July 23 and
deaths of 22 elephants, granted coal mining development finance institution, the is now in force.
concessions to several Chinese companies in opportunity to contribute to climate change The Senegalese government has published
the Hwange National Park. mitigation and improved living standards a list of the 22 renewable energy companies
The decision has drawn widespread through access to affordable and reliable that will be entitled to benefit from the new
criticism from environmentalists who now electricity,” says Maria Håkansson, Managing provisions, some of which are currently
fear the coal mining activities will harm the Director of Swedfund. In addition to working with authorities to power up rural
environment and worsen human-wildlife providing financial support to suppliers of and marginalized areas in the country.
conflict as animals move location to get away solar photovoltaic off-grids, the development The exempted products include solar
from disturbances to their habitats. partner will contribute to improving the SET panels, inverters, solar thermal collectors,
Concerns have also been raised by Investment Fund’s environmental, social batteries, solar lamp kits, solar water heaters,
scientists who say the government should and governance processes in relation to its and charge regulators. Packages comprising
prioritize sustainable environmental programs borrowers. a battery, solar panel, and a lantern or a solar
such as tourism and wildlife conservation According to the financial institution, panel, a water pump, and controller are also
in the Hwange National Park rather than solar investment fund manager SunFunder included among the VAT-exempted products.
potentially destructive mining activities for has already provided more than $100mn According to GOGLA, the global
coal which Zimbabwe still relies on heavily for in debt financing to over 50 off-grid solar association for the off-grid solar energy
its electricity generation.
Zimbabwe also uses hydro-generated
electricity but recent droughts, exacerbated
by climate change, have meant subdued
generation capacity for the country as well as
neighboring Zambia from the Kariba Dam.
For Zimbabwe, this has exerted more pressure
on the need for coal mining to enhance power
generation from Hwange although some
generation units there are currently down.
The Hwange coal plans are yet another
example of Beijing’s implicit encouragement
for Chinese companies to develop coal-fired
plants overseas. Even as China’s investment
in renewable energy projects at home has
soared becoming one of the world’s leaders in
solar, for example, Chinese companies have
been building hundreds of coal plants abroad,
some in countries that currently burn little
or no coal. This push has included African

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