Zimbabwe keen to increase biomass-led electricity production

The Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Authority has received license application to build a biomass power plant from Lurosa Investments.

The proposed 2MW facility would generate electricity from timber waste feedstock in the east of the country. Zimbabwe currently uses more electricity than it produces at peak times (2,000MW against 1,200MW).

It has been reported that 70,000 tonnes of biomass is produced a year and that figure could double by 2015. Zimbabwe has a big timber industry which is spread over 120,000 hectares of land.

The Lurosa application is one of 11 others which, when totalled together, represents an investment of $10 billion (€7.7 billion) and could produce up to 5,400MW.