Energy in Zimbabwe is a serious problem for the country. Mainly, extensive use of firewood leads to deforestation and the electricity production capacity is too low for the current level of consumption.

Fuelwood

Fuelwood is the most important domestic fuel in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

. It was estimated to stand for about 50% of the total consumption in 2001. This has led to deforestation in parts of the country with accompanying environmental problems such as erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 and diminishing wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

.

Coal

Zimbabwe has 30 billion tons of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 in 21 known deposits. This could last for over 100 years at the 2001 rate of production.

Liquid Fuels

Zimbabwe has no oil or gas recourses of its own and is completely dependent on imports for this source of energy. A pipeline from the Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 port of Beira

Beira, Mozambique

Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006...

 to Mutare

Mutare

Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...

 provides the majority of Zimbabwe's refined petroleum and diesel oil; the rest comes from South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. An ambitious project to produce 20% of the country's liquid fuel as ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

 from cane

Cane

Cane are either of two genera of tall, perennial grasses with flexible, woody stalks from the family Poaceae that grow throughout the world in wet soils. They are related to and may include species of bamboo. The genus Arundo is native from the Mediterranean region to the Far East. Arundinaria...

 has been started in Chipinge, Manicaland.

Electricity

Electricity is generated at the Kariba Dam

Kariba Dam

The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world, standing tall and long.- Construction :...

 Hydroelectric Power Station (ca. 750 MW), the Hwange Thermal Power Station

Hwange Thermal Power Station

The Hwange Thermal Power Station is the biggest power plant in Zimbabwe with an installed capacity of 920 MW. The plant was built during the 1980s, its location was chosen because of its proximity to coal fields...

 (installed capacity 920 MW) and three minor coal fired stations. All coal fired stations are in need of major upgrades due to due to neglect of maintenance and they have frequent production stops or are not producing at all. This leads to frequent and long lasting blackouts

Rolling blackout

A rolling blackout, also referred to as load shedding, is an intentionally-engineered electrical power outage where electricity delivery is stopped for non-overlapping periods of time over geographical regions. Rolling blackouts are a last-resort measure used by an electric utility company in order...

. The governmental owned Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)

Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority

Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, officially called ZESA Holdings LTD., is a state-owned company whose task is to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity in Zimbabwe...

 is the countries power generating and distributing company. Imports of energy from neighbouring countries are not enough to solve the undercapacity problem and lack of electricity hampers economic growth

Economy of Zimbabwe

The economy of Zimbabwe has shrunk significantly after 2000, resulting in a desperate situation for the country and widespread poverty from among others 94% unemployment. The participation from 1998 to 2002 in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo set the stage for this deterioration by...

. Small scale power generators are used all over the country to ease the situation.

Animal Power

Animal power is a very useful source of energy in Zimbabwe. It is estimated that animals contribute with the equivalent of 6.8 million liters of diesel in the agricultural sector.

Renewable energy

Apart from the Kariba Dam power station hydropower has still a lot of potential, especially along the Zambesi river. Solar power has enormous potential both in both small scale, such as water heating or in larger scale such as in solar power plants. However, the country's current economical condition makes the latter unrealistic. Wind and biogas energy are other possibilities.