Titan power station
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Titan power station is a permitted power station in Hwange, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It is also known as Titan New Energy power station, Beifa power station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Titan power station | Hwange, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe | -18.381280, 26.482277 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | permitted | coal: unknown | 720 | unknown |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Titan New Energy Co Ltd | Titan New Energy Co Ltd |
Project-level coal details
- Permit(s):
Background
Starting in approximately February 2019, Chinese nationals – with Beifa Investments (Pvt) Limited – were touring and exploring the Dinde area for coal mining and potentially building a coal-fired power plant.[1] According to April 2021 reporting, the company believed the Dinde project was "of national importance as it will feed into our proposed 270 Mega Watts Power Plant which is one-third of the Hwange installed capacity. The project will go a long way in alleviating the power crisis obtaining in the country.”[2]
As of May 2021, some of the coal identified at the site was potentially unsuitable for power generation and the project was mired in controversy.[3]
In June 2021, a company called Titan Power (Pvt) Ltd. reportedly received a license from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) to establish a 270 MW coal-fired power plant called Titan Power Station.[4] By June 2023, a website for the Jin An Group listed Beifa Investments (Pvt) Ltd. and “Titan Power Plant (Pvt) Ltd.” as companies belonging to the group.[5] Jin An’s webpage for the Titan power plant stated that it was a proposed power station based in Hwange that would source its coal “locally from our BEIFA coal mine”. Jin An listed the power station’s capacity as 600 MW, in contrast with its apparent license.[6] The Titan power plant was presumably the previously proposed power station associated with Beifa’s coal exploration.
In February 2024, reporting indicated that Titan Power was seeking permission from ZERA to modify its generation license and increase its power station capacity from 270 MW to 720 MW.[7]
Reporting from June 2024 stated that Titan Power was a ferrochrome mining company planning a captive power plant in Hwange.[8]
As of October 2024, the 720 MW Titan power station was reportedly slated to be completed by the end of 2025.[9]
Titan New Energy proposal
In December 2024, Zimbabwe’s president led a groundbreaking ceremony for a 720 MW coal-fired power plant being developed in Hwange by a partnership between Titan New Energy and ZESA Holdings.[10][11] The partnership agreement for the Titan power plant was reportedly one of several signed by Zimbabwe at the September 2024 Forum for China-Africa Cooperation Summit. A 200 MW solar plant at Gweru was reportedly also part of the agreement with Titan New Energy. Local reporting stated that “not much is known about Titan New Energy,” though Titan reportedly first proposed the coal power project in 2019.[12]
A December 2024 Chinese-language article listed the project’s investors as Huaxi Energy Group, Carson Group, and Jinan Group. Huaxi Energy was expected to build the power station.[13]
The Titan power station was slated to use “lower-quality coal from mining operations that would otherwise go to waste.”[10] Other sources described the power station as a “waste-to-energy” plant that would achieve “zero emissions”.[14]
As of December 2024, construction on the coal power station was expected to “begin immediately” and be completed by 2028.[10][12]
Financing
Titan New Energy was reportedly slated to finance the US$1 billion project fully through internal financing.[12]
Opposition
At full scale, the coal project originally proposed in 2019 was expected to be implemented in four wards which could consist of 15-20 villages each.[15]
The location proposed for coal exploration, Dinde, is reportedly home to a mixture of the Nambya and the Tonga people, both sidelined minorities, who were settled there by the Rhodesian government in the 1930s after being forcibly uprooted from their ancestral lands in areas including Chinamatila, Bumbusi, and Mandavu to make way for the Hwange National Park. The proposed coal operations raise many concerns, including about impacts to the environment and heritage sites.[16][17]
In April 2021, Never Tshuma - a Katambe villager in Hwange and the chair of the Dinde Development Association - was arrested for allegedly inciting fellow villagers to resist a coal exploration exercise by investors in the area.[18] Certain traditional leaders and government officials have also pushed back against those resisting the project. Information for Development Trust, a non-profit organization supporting the media to probe corruption and bad governance, investigated the site. The state withdrew its charges against Tshuma in July 2021, without giving any reasons. The Centre for Natural Resource Governance argued that not only were the charges frivolous but the bail conditions were unjust. "Banishing Never Tshuma from his rural home served as a painful reminder of the repressive colonial laws inherited by independent Zimbabwe which were used to contain Zimbabweans’ resistance to colonial rule," the group stated.[19]
In April 2021, the community petitioned the Parliament of Zimbabwe to investigate the authenticity of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.[19]
In May 2021, The Standard reported that "Unlike most typical Zimbabwean land-use and ownership disputes in which ruling [Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front] activists often acted as enforcers of unpopular government policies, the war in Dinde is a factional contest."[3]
In June 2021, articles highlighted opposition by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, a coalition of several NGOs, and trade unions against mining in the area and its risks.[20][21]
According to November 2021 reporting, coal exploration around Dinde was ongoing despite Zimbabwe’s climate pledges. Journalist Tafadzwa Ufumeli wrote: "Resistance from villagers may continue, though some are beginning to feel powerless, locally and globally."[22] Later that month, a local 8 year old girl's life was taken because of third-degree burns caused by a coal steam fire. Never Tshuma, who is the Chairperson of the Dinde Residents Association, said: “What we do not get is why this mining project, that we continue to defy in Dinde, can be considered a development for us when all it brings is displacement and suffering... Surely mining cannot be considered more important than our lives and wellness. This is an attack on our constitutional rights and we are not happy with it.”[23]
In June 2022, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) was continuing to pressure the government to cancel the project. According to a report from CNRG, Beifa Investments was still looking to develop the project despite strong community opposition. A Dinde community leader stated that Beifa did not honor commitments made during the exploration stage, purposefully misled residents and "left open holes all over the village".[24]
According to reporting from September 2024, Dinde residents were reportedly not consulted about the coal project and were concerned that it would harm the village. At least 2000 people would reportedly be evicted for the project. Residents insisted they would leave only after receiving compensation.[25]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Dinde Community Fights to Stop Coal Project," CNRG, February 8, 2021
- ↑ "Chinese mining firm accused of defiling community graves in Dinde," Zim Live, April 23, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Chinese project fans Zanu PF factionalism in Dinde," The Standard, May 23, 2021
- ↑ “Independent Power Producers - Electricity License Electronic Register,” Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, June 17, 2024
- ↑ Jin An Group website, archived June 28, 2023
- ↑ “Our Services - Titan Power Plant,” Jin An Group, accessed December 12, 2024
- ↑ “IPP seeks to increase power production capacity,” The Chronicle, February 15, 2024
- ↑ “Govt tells power-hungry ferrochrome producers: Produce your own electricity, ease pressure on ZESA,” newZWire, June 12, 2024
- ↑ “Nine power stations ready by end of next year,” The Herald, October 29, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 “Zimbabwe President Breaks Ground on 720MW Coal Power Plant in Zimbabwe,” The Electricity Hub, December 3, 2024
- ↑ “President launches US1bn energy plant,” The Herald, December 3, 2024
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 “ED offers ‘competitive tariffs’ to wary energy investors as he breaks ground on new 720MW power project,” newZWire, December 2, 2024
- ↑ “中国投资津巴布韦新里程碑！泰坦新能源920万兆瓦电厂开工仪式隆重举行,” 华人头条 Chinese Headline New Media, December 4, 2024
- ↑ “US$1 billion new power plant planned for Hwange,” Energy Central, December 10, 2024
- ↑ "Zimbabwean Government, Activists, Face Off Over Chinese Coal Plant," Minority Reporter, May 31, 2021
- ↑ "Chinese mining firm accused of defiling community graves in Dinde," Zim Live, April 23, 2021
- ↑ "Media Release: Stop the Beifa Coal Project and the Persecution of the Dinde Community in Hwange, Zimbabwe," CNRG, May 17, 2021
- ↑ "Zimbabwe: Hwange Man Arrested for Inciting Villagers to Resist Chinese Mining Project," All Africa, April 18, 2021
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "State Withdraws Charges Against Dinde Resident Association Vice-Chair," Centre for Natural Resource Governance, July 30, 2021
- ↑ "NGOs Call For Stop In ‘Cruel’ Hwange Coal Project," June 7, 2021
- ↑ "Zimbabweans protest coal mine," June 27, 2021
- ↑ "New coal project in Zimbabwe counterintuitive or necessary?," ESI-Africa, November 9, 2021
- ↑ "Rapid coal mining sabotages Zimbabwe’s energy transition plans," Energy Transition, January 4, 2022
- ↑ "Dinde coalfields trigger fresh uproar…as Chinese miner faces angry community," The NewsDay, June 22, 2022
- ↑ “Hwange’s coal-mining horrors,” Oxpeckers, September 5, 2024
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
