The first of two 300-MW units being built as part of the expansion of a coal-fired generating station in Zimbabwe has come online. The Zimbabwe Power Co. (ZPC) said the unit began sending electricity to the national grid late on March 20.
ZPC in a statement said that the Power will be progressively fed into the grid until it reaches 300 MW. The ZPC said it expects the second unit will enter commercial operation in October. The ZPC is expanding the 920-MW Hwange thermal power station as part of a $1.4-billion upgrade to the facility.
The Hwange station is the largest thermal power plant in Zimbabwe. It has four 120-MW units, and two 220-MW units, all commissioned between 1983 and 1987. Sydney Gata, executive chairman of Zesa Holdings, at an event Monday marking the unit’s startup, said that the synchronization [to the power grid] has been successful.
