SOLARISATION PROJECT

Total Zimbabwe has invested up to US$4m in rolling out solar-powered service station as the energy company turns to renewable energy to ease the ongoing power cuts. The company is the first energy firm to carry out such a project in Zimbabwe. The new initiative is part of the Total Group’s plan to install solar-powered service stations in 57 countries in its bid to reduce carbon emissions.

Zimbabwe is facing erratic power supplies due to antiquated power generation equipment, climate change that has resulted in dwindling water levels at the country’s hydro-powered plant and limited investment in the capital- intensive sector. The power outages have forced service stations to rely on diesel-powered generators at a time the country is facing erratic fuel supplies.

Total Zimbabwe has currently deployed the solar systems onto six sites as it plans to minimise its dependence on grid supplies. These include Total Westgate (Harare, Mashonaland), Total Emerald Hill (Harare, Mashonaland), TotalSimon Mazorodze (Harare, Mashonaland), TotalClonsilla (Gweru, Midlands), Total Hillcrest (Bulawayo, Matebeleland), Total Rusape 1 (Rusape, Manicaland).

Total has a presence of 101 service stations nationwide to date. Out of these, the plan is to solarise half within five years. This shift is a cleaner and more efficient solution that will see the energy dependence on the grid or alternative energy sources like generators decrease by 30% on the current system. Once battery hybrid architecture is integrated into the solution, we could see this percentage increase, however, this will be at a later stage as this requires more investment. For now, the service station will be grid-tied with a generator set as a back-up. This, therefore, reduces reliance on the grid and consumption of fuel.

We also aim to decrease our carbon (CO2) footprint as an organization as we strive to keep our commitment to better energy.