Bulawayo power station

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Bulawayo power station is a 90-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

It is being refurbished.

Location

The map below shows the plant in Bulawayo.

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Background

The plant was commissioned between 1947 and 1957 as an undertaking by the Municipality of Bulawayo. It joined the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority in 1987. While Bulawayo initially had an installed capacity of 120 MW, it was refurbished in 1999 to 90 MW. The main materials he plant uses the generation of electricity are coal, chemicals, oil, and greases. The station generates an average of 30 MW.

As of 2016 the plant is planned for refurbishment again at a cost of US$87 million. The plant will be 90 MW when completed, and is expected to be completed in mid-2018.

The refurbishment is being financed by the India Export-Import Bank (India Eximbank). In March 2016 it was reported that construction is planned by the end of 2016.

In April 2017 it was reported that work on the refurbishment would start soon after ZESA secured US$90 million from an unnamed Indian bank. A company said that a separate challenge for the plant was securing coal efficiently from Hwange Colliery, due to logistical challenges.

In June of 2019, a federal Committee toured the facility, stating that the machines were ancient, unreliable, unserviceable, and with no spare parts available for plants. The power station is still not operating, despite the projected 2018 start date. After securing $110 million from India's Eximbank, Bulawayo Power Station repowering had been stalled by contractual dispute between ZESA and Bulawayo City Council (BCC). The dispute was resolved in April 2019, with Zimbbwe Power Company receiving a licence for the station after hearing objections from the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association and the Bulawayo City Council.

Project Details

• Sponsor: ZESA Holdings
• Parent company:
• Location: Bulawayo, Bulawayo province, Zimbabwe
• Coordinates: -20.158611, 28.575278 (exact)
• Status: Permitted
• Gross Capacity: 90 MW
• Type: Subcritical
• Projected in service: 2018 (refurbishment)
• Coal Type:
• Coal Source:
• Source of financing: India Export-Import Bank

Articles and resources

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• Zimbabwe and coal