Zimbabwe is looking to develop a renewable energy policy to provide the energy sector with guidelines and a roadmap for creating a more conducive environment for attracting investment.

Gloria Magombo, CEO of the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has stated that the policy will aim to address all the gaps, such as incentives for increased uptake and investment in renewable energy and legislation. Magombo has further explained her organization was working to develop the policy in coordination with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.

“The terms of reference have been finalised and ZERA is set to fund the project,” she continued. “ZERA intends to initiate a consultative process to develop a renewable energy policy and we’re going to involve a number of stakeholders.”

ZERA is mandated with regulating the country’s energy sector and is also registering all of the country’s renewable energy service providers in order to compile a database and facilitate the formation of a renewable energy association.

Magombo dismissed the country’s current energy policy – set in 2012 – as “fragmented.”

According to her, gaps in Zimbabwe’s current energy policy include a lack of a separate renewable energy policy; a need for energy management regulations; and a lack of clean energy funding mechanisms and procurement framework for Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

She maintains that the introduction of a separate renewable energy policy would help propel the issue to a new level.

“The renewable energy policy is expected to address most of the challenges and issues in the clean energy sector,” she said.

According to ZERA, the country has significant quantities of clean energy resources that can be tapped for sustainable economic growth. For example it is promoting the use of ethanol for cooking.

ZERA has also developed a Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) scheme, which has yet to be implemented. REFIT mandates power utilities operating on the national grid with purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources at a pre-determined price with a view to stimulating investment in the sector.