Building Solar Energy Harvesting Farm in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Funding is required for the establishment of a solar farm on 100 hectares of land leased out for 30 years by the City of Bulawayo.

Funding will be for a feasibility study of the project, environmental impact assessment, registration with Zimbabwe energy regulatory authority, clearance of land & building some buildings plus fencing off the site.

Order for the supply and shipment of the solar panels & equipment together with the costs of installation plus transportation from seaport to project site in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. Included here will be customs duties but if the project is fast-tracked, solar systems are exempt from duty for now.

The solar farm will need to be connected to the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company electricity grid & then the project can then be commissioned.

The solar farm will sell electricity to the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company a government-owned parastatal.

The revenue generation model will be ascertained by the Feasibility Study. The abovementioned milestones of feasibility to commissioning will need to be done in 24 months or less.

It is thought that between USD 60M to 100M will be required to utilize the 100 hectares & that the feasibility study will give us a more accurate figure of the cost of the project.

The investor will be required to fund the abovementioned activities as the company I represent has the Land on which the project can be undertaken.

Financials below will be left blank as this will be established by the feasibility study but as we all know the Solar Farm will be a profitable project.

There are no real competitors at the moment, as the Sola industry is only taking off now.

We know the towns of Dete and Gwanda have awarded contracts for very small solar fields while ours will be massive on 100 hectares in western Zimbabwe.

It is hoped that the successful implementation of this project will lead Bulawayo the second largest city in Zimbabwe & other towns can lease more land in future.

Zimbabwe is importing electricity from South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique & DR Congo because Zimbabwe relied on Coal-based electricity generation which has been overtaken by the effects of Coal on the Ozone layer.

Zimbabwe only has the Kariba hydroelectricity plant & it's the only one in the country with a sizeable capacity to produce a meaningful amount of electricity.

For Zimbabwe solar is the only viable option as we as a country can not afford to fund the construction of a nuclear plant.

Through the solar farm, we will make money as the sole customer Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company has customers who are paying but the company has problems as it has to import the electricity which requires a foreign currency which government struggles to get.

We will be a cheap substitute for the long foreseeable future & we hope to expand not only in Bulawayo but to other towns & cities.
Zimbabwe as a country has the Management & Electrical engineering expertise including Accounts but we lack funding.

The invested funds would be used as follows:
1) Conduct a feasibility study to ascertain the viability of the whole project including all aspects of the project.
2) Environmental impact assessment report to be presented to the Environmental Management Agency of Zimbabwe which am confident will give the go-ahead as the benefits of the project far outweigh the loss of a few insects, trees & grasses.
3) Clearance & fencing off of the project site plus site offices.
4) Place an order for the solar panels and equipment plus make provision for receiving the solar consignment from the seaport & transportation to Bulawayo Zimbabwe. We may be asked to pay customs duty.
5) Installation costs, connection costs to the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company grid & commissioning costs.
The financing rounds will need to be four (4) disbursed within 24 months or less.

The funds will be equity funds into our company or a joint venture company depending on what Investor representatives agree to.

We are offering a 60% shareholding for the investors & 40% for owners of the Lease of the Land on which the Solar Farm will be constructed. This may be negotiated.

We are not looking for hands-on investors as Management & Engineering experience is readily available. Although Accounting experts are also available in Zimbabwe it is suggested that an Accountant may be attached for some time so trust is established.