President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday commissioned the Glovers 10MW Solar Energy Plant in Kwekwe, using the launch to position renewable energy as central to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation strategy and its efforts to attract long-term private capital into infrastructure projects.
The facility, developed by indigenous independent power producer New Glovers Solar, is expected to generate about 20 gigawatt-hours annually in its first phase, feeding electricity directly into the national grid through a six-kilometre transmission line. Once fully completed, the project is expected to expand to 110 megawatts, making it one of the country’s larger privately driven solar developments.
Standing before party supporters, government officials and business executives in the Midlands mining city, Mnangagwa framed the project as evidence that Zimbabwe’s economic reform programme is beginning to unlock private sector participation in strategic infrastructure.
“Energy remains a key enabler for economic transformation and national development,” the President said, describing solar power as critical to modernisation, industrialisation and agricultural productivity. “The sun is our silent partner.”
Zimbabwe has increasingly turned toward solar energy as recurring droughts reduce generation capacity at the Kariba hydroelectric plant, while ageing thermal stations struggle with breakdowns and coal supply constraints. Power shortages have weighed heavily on mining production, manufacturing output and broader investor confidence in recent years.
The Glovers project reflects a broader shift by Zimbabwe toward encouraging independent power producers through new investment guarantees aimed at making projects bankable. Mnangagwa said the plant was among the first projects implemented under the Government Project Support Agreement framework, which guarantees power uptake, allows cost-reflective tariffs and permits offshore dividend repatriation for investors.
The framework represents an attempt by authorities to reassure financiers wary of Zimbabwe’s long history of currency volatility and policy uncertainty.
“This demonstrates the role played by the private sector to complement Government efforts to modernise and grow our economy,” Mnangagwa said.
The plant itself includes 18,600 solar panels, 31 inverters and two smart transformers, infrastructure officials say is designed to improve efficiency and grid stability.
Midlands Minister of State Owen Ncube linked the project to Zimbabwe’s wider industrial ambitions under Vision 2030, arguing that increased electricity supply has helped revive economic activity in the province.
According to Ncube, industrial capacity utilisation in Midlands Province has risen from about 10 percent before 2017 to roughly 57 percent, driven partly by expanded infrastructure investment and energy projects.
He cited several ongoing energy initiatives, including expansion works at Hwange Power Station, the Presidential Solarisation Programme and additional independent solar projects intended to reduce dependence on hydroelectric generation.
The commissioning also highlights the increasingly strategic role of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe’s economic planning. Home to mining, steel, agriculture and manufacturing operations, the province has become central to government efforts to build industrial corridors linked to energy and mineral beneficiation.
For Zimbabwe, where electricity deficits have historically forced companies onto costly diesel generators and disrupted production schedules, the success of projects like Glovers could become an important test of whether private capital is prepared to back the country’s infrastructure ambitions despite persistent macroeconomic risks.
