African drought fuels boom in coal-fired power stations

China funds projects that experts warn will make crisis worse

- NICK FERRIS

A drought-fuelled energy crisis in Zambia and Zimbabwe led to growth in demand for new coal-fired power in 2024, reaching its highest annual total in eight years.

Both countries were gripped by energy shortages for much of the past year as the Kariba Dam hydroelectric plant, which supplies them with the majority of their electricity, faced recordlow water levels due to a severe drought.

Newly proposed coal production would create an extra 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of power, according to data produced by research organisation Global Energy Monitor (Gem). A power plant with a capacity of 1 GW can provide the energy needs for around one million homes.

The 40 per cent of Zambians with grid electricity suffered their “worst blackouts in memory” as the country’s six hydroelectric turbines generated less than 10 per cent of normal electricity output in the latter part of last year.

In Zimbabwe, meanwhile, blackouts became so severe that finance minister Mthuli Ncube was plunged into darkness in the middle of his budget speech in November, in which he also warned that the agricultural sector would contract by 15 per cent due to the country’s low rainfall.

Though seasonal rainfall has now returned, last year’s drought was caused by a particularly severe El Nino weather pattern, which was exacerbated by climate change, experts have suggested.

In response to the crisis, Zambia has proposed building a $900m, 0.6 GW coal-fired power plant, with support from the Wonderful Group, a Chinese-owned company that manufactures ceramics and fertiliser.

In Zimbabwe, some 1.8 GW of new coal capacity was announced at the Hwange power station, the country’s largest power plant, which was backed by the China-based Shandong Dingneng New Energy, and the India-based Jindal Steel.

A number of other new plants were also proposed in Zimbabwe with the backing of Chinese money, according to Gem, taking the total to 2.2 GW of power.