ZIMGREENCO and Dolcin Trading have signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for one of Zimbabwe's largest grid-connected renewable independent power producer (IPP) projects.
The agreement was signed at this year's Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Dolcin Trading project, which is being developed by South African renewable energy firm Sigma Solar Africa, will see the construction of a 50MWac solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near Chegutu in Mashonaland West Province.
The facility is expected to become one of the largest grid-connected renewable IPPs in Zimbabwe.
The PPA builds on the successful implementation of a systems operations agreement (SOA) signed in 2024 between GreenCo, through its Zimbabwean operating company ZimGreenCo Power Services (Private) Limited, and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC).
Under the agreement, GreenCo will purchase electricity generated by the solar plant and supply it to large energy users in Zimbabwe. In terms of the SOA, GreenCo will pay ZETDC a fee for system operations services, a model that demonstrates the viability of an open-access framework in Zimbabwe's electricity sector.
The arrangement also highlights collaboration between private-sector developers, GreenCo and the state-owned utility in expanding renewable energy generation and improving power security.
ZimGreenCo managing director Lion Mashiri said the agreement reflected the importance of partnerships and market-based solutions in addressing Zimbabwe's energy challenges.
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"We have always believed that Zimbabwe's energy security will be built on partnership rather than public purse alone, and on markets that let private power move to where it is needed," Mashiri said.
"This agreement shows that an open access regime can work in practice: a privately developed solar plant, a creditworthy offtaker and the national utility each playing their part."
Mashiri said the combination of the long-term PPA and the existing SOA with ZETDC demonstrated a model that could be replicated to bring additional renewable energy projects onto the national grid.
Dolcin Trading director Gareth P Warner said securing a long-term offtake agreement was critical to the project's bankability.
"GreenCo's structure gives our investors and lenders the long-term revenue certainty they need, and allows the Dolcin Trading plant to advance towards construction and the delivery of clean power to Zimbabwean consumers," Warner said.
