Zimbabwe’s clean energy debate must move beyond selling solar products to delivering practical solutions that give people dignity, create businesses and make better use of power already being generated, energy expert Hilton Chingosho has said.

“There is business in giving our people dignity,” Chingosho said during chapter reflections at the book launch in Harare, pointing out job creation potential in new energy.

Chingosho, who contributed the chapter on viable and sustainable clean energy alternatives in Zimbabwe in the newly launched book Pathways for Green Governance in Zimbabwe: Energy Transition, Climate Finance and Eco-feminism, said the country’s approach to technology remains too product-based.

He said Zimbabwe should rethink how it approaches solar energy and other clean technologies, especially in communities where people need reliable power but cannot afford to individually own full systems.

“Our view of technology is product-based rather than solution-based,” he said. “We are also stuck at ownership. Let us move to use, rather than ownership,” he said.

The book was launched by Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust and ActionAid Zimbabwe at The Venue in Avondale on Tuesday, under the theme of energy transition, climate finance and eco-feminism. The programme included chapter reflections by contributors, a screening of climate resilience projects and discussions on how Zimbabwe can strengthen green governance.

The publication’s concept note says the book explores clean energy alternatives, community-led resilience, climate finance, green economy pathways, legislative reforms and policy options tailored to Zimbabwe’s circumstances. It is designed as a roadmap for policymakers, researchers, environmental advocates and development practitioners.

Chingosho said the focus should shift from ownership of solar equipment to usage of the power being generated. In practical terms, this could mean community solar systems, shared mini-grids, pay-as-you-use models, solar-powered productive hubs, or arrangements where excess power from private systems is captured and redirected into wider economic use.

A previous Zim Now report, citing industry estimates, warned that Zimbabwe could be wasting more than 12MW of solar power daily while still importing electricity. The report noted that in some new suburbs, more than 60 percent of homes run on at least 5kVA solar systems, much of which produces excess power during peak sunshine hours when households may not be using it. (Zimbabwe Now)

Such models could help small businesses, clinics, schools, irrigation schemes, cold rooms, salons, welders, food processors and rural enterprises access clean energy without each having to carry the full cost of buying and maintaining their own systems.

In his keynote address, Environment, Climate and Wildlife Secretary Simon Masanga in a speech read on behalf by Deputy Director, Climate Change Mitigation, Mr Lovemore Dhoba, said climate change must now be understood as a development, economic, governance and social justice challenge, not merely an environmental issue.

Masanga said Zimbabwe has considerable renewable energy potential, particularly in solar, hydropower, wind and biomass, which can be harnessed to improve energy security, create jobs and support green industrialisation.

He also said climate finance should be viewed not only as environmental funding, but as investment in resilience, food security, economic growth and sustainable development.

That framing dovetails with recent efforts by UNDP and the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency to attract investment into development-linked sectors. At an April 2026 engagement, UNDP and ZIDA said Zimbabwe needed more capital in areas including renewable energy, agriculture, manufacturing, housing, infrastructure, climate resilience and small business.

Chingosho’s “dignity” argument is that the clean energy opportunity may therefore lie not only in importing more panels and batteries, but in building bankable service models around power

The book was edited by Nyasha Frank Mpahlo and Leon Dzumbira and contributors include Judith Marera, Melania Chiponda, Obert Bore & Michelle N. Chitando, Veronica Nonhlanhla Jakarasi-Gundu and Sithandoyenkosi Nkomo.