Updated September 17, 2025- Zimbabwe is seeking as much as a total of $350 million for the ambitious Kariba Dam Floating Solar Project. Currently, they have secured a total of $4.4 million from the African Export-Import Bank for a feasibility study on the solar project. The Kariba Dam Floating Solar Project, led by a consortium of the country’s major industrial and mining companies known as the Intensive Energy Users Group (IEUG), is designed to bolster Zimbabwe’s energy capacity and reduce its dependence on inconsistent hydropower and imported electricity. The floating solar plant is planned to be implemented in phases, with a pilot phase targeting an initial 500 MW capacity to provide stable and competitively priced power to energy-intensive industries under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
“We kick off the study immediately,” Eddie Cross, chairman of the Intensive Energy User Group, said to Bloomberg. “The total investment will depend on the study and open public tenders, however we have asked for a total of $350 million.”
Kariba Dam Floating Solar Project Factsheet
Location: Lake Kariba, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Capacity: plans include an initial 250MW phase with a potential expansion to 1GW.
Key stakeholders:
- Zambezi River Authority (ZRA)
- African Development Bank (AfDB) / Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA)
- Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO)
- Consulting firms: Firms selected to conduct the feasibility studies
The IEUG, made up of mining companies inclusive of a former local unit of Rio Tinto and Mimosa has made plans of a 1,000 megawatt hybrid floating solar panel facility in Lake Kariba. Lake Kariba is the world’s largest man-made lake. It aims to complete a 500 megawatt pilot by the end of 2026.
Also read: Zimbabwe Power Users Secure $250 Million for Kariba Dam Floating Solar Project
Zimbabwe Faces Power Challenges Due to Drought
Zimbabwe was stricken by power cuts in 2024 after a severe drought curbed hydro-electricity generation at Kariba Dam. This artificial lake produces half of the southern African nation’s power. Zimbabwe currently generates a total of 430 megawatts at Kariba against an installed capacity of 1,050 megawatts.
Also, the ageing infrastructure at the Hwange Power Plant will undergo refurbishment so that it can increase the power generation capacity for the nation.
Project funding for the solar project will be structured as 70% debt and 30% equity, stated Caleb Dengu, chief executive officer of Green Hybrid Power Ltd., which is helping its development. Additionally, he stated that the debt would carry a 10-year tenure.
“We hope to finish the study by the month of December 2025 and close by March and kick off construction in the second quarter of the year 2026,” he stated via telephone from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, where he and Cross were in attendance of the annual general meeting of the Afreximbank.
Also read: Zambia and Zimbabwe Seek Investors to Revive the $5 Billion Batoka Gorge Hydropower Project
