Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (ABU DHABI)
UAE-based solar company, SkyPower Global, on Thursday finalised a deal to build a 500-Megawatt solar plant in Zimbabwe, in what will be the largest solar project in the African nation’s history.
SkyPower, operating under a public-private partnership within the UAE, finalised the deal with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) at a signing event attended by several dignitaries on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
“The impact is highly significant, because we currently have a power deficit, and this is going to come in to ramp up our power generation and reach out to disadvantaged communities. I think this is quite significant in our thrust is to have universal access to energy,” the Zimbabwean Minister of Energy, Edgar Moyo, told Aletihad.
“We sit in the centre of the region, so geographically we are well positioned. And second, we also have the sufficient and necessary transmission, so that if power comes through us, it is a network to reach out to everybody.”
Moyo expressed gratitude towards the UAE and was joyous that the record project had been able to advance into a tangible deal since it was conceptualised at COP27 in Egypt. The “Green Power” project is expected to power approximately 2 million households.
Skypower President and CEO, Kerry Adler, emphasised the significance of the deal in expanding the company’s portfolio across Africa, and said it stood as a “testament to Zimbabwe’s commitment to renewable energy and economic growth”.
“At the recent COP summit, we met with His Excellency, Mr. Edgar Moyo, and after sitting down, we realised that we had the same ambition, which is more power to bring jobs and help grow economies,” Adler told Aletihad on Thursday.
“A little over a year ago, the teams got together and worked very closely to bring it to the table where it is today. The land has been secured. The permits are all in place. And today is not just announcing that we’ve reached an agreement, but announcing the kickstart of the project, which I think is more meaningful.”
Adler said the construction was poised to start within 12 months, following the finalisation of financing. He added that the company’s UAE base had allowed it to better access the region, and believed that the project would establish a benchmark for further cooperation.
“Skypower is proud to be based out of the UAE and Canada with dual head offices; the UAE is the most incredible place to be based out of because it’s a launchpad to Africa. You know, I’m Canadian, but I’m proud to now call Abu Dhabi my home because it gives us an opportunity to be closer to the markets that we serve, the logistics, the safety, the security, the access to the necessary ingredients to build these projects are all within arm’s reach, as opposed to days away,” he said.
“I mean just look how easy for an African country’s leadership to come here. It’s a lot more difficult to travel to North America. So, this is the perfect place not only to meet, but to transact in business, and that’s why we put in so much of our resources based here in the UAE.”
