top of page
Kariba Solar Park
Transforming Zimbabwe’s Energy Future
A Strategic Solar Expansion at the World's Largest Man-Made Lake
Lake Kariba, completed in 1959, remains the world’s largest man-made lake by volume, four times larger than China’s Three Gorges Dam. Designed primarily for hydroelectric generation serving Zimbabwe and Zambia, the lake once provided 1,266 MW of stable baseload power aligned with long-term Zambezi River inflows. This allowed stable year-round generation without jeopardizing lake storage levels.
Over time, nearly 1,000 MW of peaking generation capacity has been added to exploit higher inflow periods. Yet current data shows both hydro output and the accompanying high-voltage transmission infrastructure are consistently underutilized, despite Zimbabwe’s ongoing power shortages. The Kariba Solar Park is designed to unlock this latent potential.
A Landmark Solar Development for Zimbabwe
GreenGrid Energy is developing a 600MW GreenGrid Kariba Solar Park near Kariba Town which will feed directly into the national grid transmission lines. Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission Distribution Company (ZETDC) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement and Transmission Connection Agreement for the entire capacity of the project. Initial development will focus on land-based solar structures, following feasibility studies that identified these as the most efficient and technically suitable for the early stages of the project. As the development progresses, the project may expand to incorporate floating solar on Lake Kariba.
Unlocking Kariba’s Potential With Utility-Scale Solar
Kariba Solar Park introduces a new operating model: integrating large-scale solar generation directly alongside the existing hydropower station. The Kariba Solar Park’s energy generation meets Zimbabwe’s growing daytime electricity demand, while preserving Kariba’s water reserves for the more critical peak demand periods, early morning and evening, when solar is offline and the national grid is under the most stress. This complementary operating model not only improves grid reliability but increases the economic value of Kariba’s hydro dispatch, as power delivered during peak hours commands higher tariffs for the national utility.
A Practical Solution to Enhance Kariba’s Climate Resilience
Climate change poses a very real threat to Kariba which has seen its overall hydrology materially affected in recent years. The project provides a compelling climate change mitigation strategy, allowing Kariba to be able to store water during solar generation hours for strategic deployment at peak demand periods or in drought-stricken months.
National-Level Benefits That Strengthen the Grid
In essence, the Kariba Solar Park transforms the Kariba system into a high-capacity, flexible energy platform, one that mimics the benefits of large-scale battery storage without the cost. It represents a practical, efficient way to modernise Zimbabwe’s energy infrastructure by better using what already exists, while also delivering clean, baseload renewable power at significant scale.
bottom of page