Beifa power station
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Beifa power station is a permitted power station in Hwange, Donde, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It is also known as Dinde power station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Beifa power station | Hwange, Donde, Hwange, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe | -18.410819, 26.784252 (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 | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | permitted | coal - unknown | 270 | unknown | – | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Beifa Investments Pvt Ltd [100.0%] |
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]
Beifa Investments (Pvt) Ltd. was listed as a company belonging to the Jin An Group.[3]
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.[4]
As of March 2024, there were no apparent updates on the power station.
Opposition
At full scale, the coal project will be implemented in four wards which could consist of 15-20 villages each.[5]
The site location, 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.[6][7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
In April 2021, the community petitioned the Parliament of Zimbabwe to investigate the authenticity of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.[9]
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."[4]
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.[10][11]
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."[12] 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.”[13]
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".[14]
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
- ↑ Jin An Group website, accessed April 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Chinese project fans Zanu PF factionalism in Dinde," The Standard, May 23, 2021
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "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
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.
