COMPLETED PROJECTS:

Examples of completed projects in the past five years are: -

A. RENEWABLE ENERGY DIVISION:

Mhondoro Central Charging Station:
Energy Technology Institute designed, fabricated and installed a 1kW solar central charging station in Mhondoro, which is powering a clinic and has the capacity to light up 50 houses.

UNESCO Solar Platform:
The institute was chosen by UNESCO to house modern solar training facilities for the SADC region on solar home light system, solar water pumping and mini/micro hydro schemes. It carried out a training course for ten resource persons and continues to run training courses for the solar energy stakeholders.

Biomass Test Centre for the SADC Region:
The institute was also chosen by GTZ ProBec to be the Southern Africa Regional Test Centre for biomass-stove development and indoor pollution measurements. The institute received laboratory equipment for air pollution measurement and is actively carrying out projects in the region using these facilities.

Regional Biomass Stove Testing:
The Energy Technology Institute in collaboration with GTZ ProBec organized and ran a regional biomass stove testing and an indoor air pollution measurement workshop in Karoi, in July 2001. Six countries were present, namely Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Evaluation of the workshop by an independent assessor showed that the workshop was highly successful in achieving its objectives. The institute was also chosen by GTZ ProBec to run a national training workshop for entrepreneurs on developing and marketing biomass stoves. This included Hurungwe, Masvingo and AVOCA in Zimbabwe.

Training of Namibian Entrepreneurs:
The Energy Technology Institute has extend its wings to attend to business opportunities beyond the Zimbabwean borders where its staff were called upon to train Namibian Entrepreneurs on the construction and testing of efficient biomass stoves. The training extended over a period from 6 to 28 August 2001.

Chimanimani Sustainable Renewable Energy Village:
Under this project, the Energy Technology Institute has successfully completed the provision of the Rusitu Valley Community with an integrated and total energy solution to meet their needs from energy. This included the installation of a solar central charging station for lighting the homes and a clinic, provision of solar driers for drying the excess in fruits and vegetables and selling it off-season to fetch higher prices, and efficient biomass stoves which efficiently use biomass as a source of energy and therefore prolongs its availability.

Solar Cookers Training:
The Energy Technology Institute has secured funds from Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to build a number of solar cookers to be used for the training of entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe on how to build and test solar cookers. The institute has finished building two Zimbabwean models of solar cookers.

Saw Dust Briquette Project:
UNDP GEF small grant has chosen the Energy Technology Institute to become the technical partner to a local NGO who are introducing sawdust briquette technology in Zimbabwe.

Tubular Biogas Digester Project:
Africa 2000, an NGO, has chosen the Energy Technology Institute to develop, build and train the rural communities at Kezi Community Centre, South of Zimbabwe, on tubular biogas digesters. The institute completed the installation of a total of four digesters and ran a training course in the community.

Women in Business and Skills Development Project:
This is a community-based project aimed at financially empowering the women in Gwanda through the provision of environmentally friendly means of drying their agriculture produce and selling it off-season to fetch high prices. Under this project, the Energy Technology Institute built two solar driers, dispatched them to the women in Gwanda community, developed materials and trained the community on how to use such driers.

Solar Street Light:
This is a finished R & D project, which is ready for commercialization. The product represents the first solar streetlight to be designed and built in Zimbabwe with a built-in innovative switching control and charging mechanism. The light is an environmentally friendly product since it uses solar power in its operations and does not require electricity cables. It is a stand–alone system and can be erected in remote areas, which are far away from the electricity grid. The light automatically switches on at sunset and switches off at sunrise. The light could be used in both rural and urban areas and in particular in tourist attraction spots. This is an economically viable product, which could provide an effective solution to ease the energy shortage situation and to cut on energy importation.

Solar Components Development:
The Energy Technology Institute together with JICA of Japan and the Ministry of Power Development organized four seminars for the solar system components manufacturers to report on the institute test findings of locally manufactured / available batteries, charge controllers and solar tubes. Also presented were recommendations for the improvement of the above solar system components.

UNESCO Summer School for Solar Energy for English Speaking Africa:
The institute, together with UNESCO organised two summer schools for the solar energy stakeholders in East and Southern Africa for training on solar energy. This covered areas like solar technology, system performance, testing and troubleshooting, system sizing and cost. The two schools were well attended and each extended over a period of one week.

SPARKNET Project:
This is a project, which involves eleven countries, four of which are from the EU, and the rest are from Eastern and Southern Africa. The project aims to develop interactive knowledge networks for the household energy users. The project has been running for three years and is currently in its final year of implementation. SIRDC was chosen to be the focal point of the project in Zimbabwe.

B. ENERGY MANAGEMENT DIVISION:

SADC Energy Management Project:
The institute was chosen by CIDA Canada as a Centre for training energy managers for industry in the SADC region. The project brought energy audit equipment to the Centre from CIDA and training facilities. The project has continued to offer training and energy services to industry since its establishment in 2001. The project assisted in building capacity within ETI for the development and efficient utilization of Zimbabwe’s energy resources
  -  to promote efficient usage of all energy forms by industry
  -  to assist ZESA in meeting energy load demand by demonstrating to industry the benefits of load shifting and improved load factors.
  -  to protect the environment by minimizing use of natural resources such as coal and wood
The project has continued to offer training and energy services to industry since its establishment in 2001.

 Energy efficiency policy studies in 2005 in six sub-sectors: Mining, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Public Institutions, Transport and Agriculture.

Preliminary Energy Audits in 2007 in seven BCSDZ members (Sable Chemicals, Rio-Zim, BNC, Shangani, Circle Cement, Turnall Fibre Cement, and ZimAlloys).

Energy Audits in 25 SMEs (2007-2009) for the energy efficiency policy draft.

Energy Management training, energy auditing and programme implementation of CAAZ (2006-2007).

Energy Auditing in March 2009 (Delta Sparkling Beverages, Harare) Introduction to Energy Management training to energy officers from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development (MOEPD) in May 2009. ;

Energy Management Services to all Sectors of the Economy:

Listed below are some of the companies that have benefited from our services:

Rural Industries Promotion Company (RIPCO) – Botswana
Ministry of Energy & Power Development
South Wales Electric
Premier Service Medical Aid Society
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe
Bindura Nickel Corporation
Forestry Company of Zimbabwe
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Battery World
Pro Plastics Ltd.
McMeekan Founders and Engineers
ZIMPHOS
Modzone Enterprises
BOC Gases
BP Shell
Plastique Industries
Metal Sales
ORDECO
ZIMCAST – Gweru
ZIMPHOS
BMA Fasteners
Paramount Garments
ZIMBOARD
Mutare Board and Paper Mills
Lever Brothers
Delta Sparkling Beverages, Harare
Delta Chibuku: Harare, Chinhoyi, Karoi & Chitungwiza
Nestle
Zimbabwe Chemical Company
Gold Star Sugars, Harare
Chloride Zimbabwe
Cutrag Tobacco Processors
Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco
Mozambique Leaf Tobacco
Nutromac Foods
World Vision Zimbabwe

C. FUELS DIVISION:

The division is active in providing testing of the quality of coal, charcoal and efficiency of industrial boilers through analysis of the flue gases. The division has secured a number of contracts for the development of alternate fuel resources. These included the development of biodiesel, liquid fuel from coal, exploitation of the coal bed methane in Zimbabwe.