DINSON Iron and Steel Company (Disco Steel) has commissioned a 50MW power plant that will ensure the company is energy self-sufficient.
The facility will reduce the company's reliance on the national grid. Currently, the Manhize Steel Plant is consuming 28MW with the balance expected to be synchronised into the national grid soon.
This development was announced Monday when Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo, Permanent Secretary Dr Gloria Magombo, and other senior Government officials toured the Dinson Iron and Steel Plant in Manhize.
Speaking soon after touring the company, Minister Moyo said he was impressed by efforts made by the company to satisfy its energy needs.
"I think the critical thing to understand is that Manhize is generating its power. Right now they are producing up to 50MW and they are using about 28MW. So the balance is what they are now working on synchronising with ZETDC so that it goes back to the grid and they can sell power to augment our power in the system."
Minister Moyo also assured members of the public that the company was no longer putting pressure on the national grid.
"We will soon benefit a lot of power from Manhize," he said. "We are here to appreciate what Manhize is doing in terms of power generation, in terms of producing their power."
The Minister implored highly consumptive companies to emulate Dinson Iron and Steel Company.
"It is our request and encouragement that big companies should also, as part of their input, invest in power generation.
"It will see their costs coming down and it is going to augment our power supply-demand gap. And we want to encourage these big companies to invest just like what Manhize Dinson is doing here."
Dinson projects director Mr Wilfred Motsi said: "This plant produces about 50MW, but because of the construction phase where we are, we are just utilising about 24 MW," he said.
"We have been very proactive to the call by the Minister that those who are intensive users should produce their own power and we have started that."
The company is further expanding its power generation capacity with an additional 20MW installation at its Manhize plant, which will bring the total power output to 70MW.
"In the next months, we will be producing an extra 20MW from waste gas coming from our blast furnace," said Mr Motsi.
Dinson Iron and Steel Company's 50MW power plant utilises advanced heat exchange technology to generate electricity.
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The process begins with the combustion of coal in a Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler, which ensures high-efficiency combustion, minimal maintenance costs, and reduced emissions.
The heat generated from the CFB boiler is then harnessed through a heat exchange method to produce high-pressure steam. This steam drives turbines at 3000 rpm, ultimately generating 50MW of electricity.
This innovative facility harnesses waste heat and combustible gases from the blast furnace and Basic Oxygen Furnace to produce electricity.
This eco-friendly approach utilises waste energy from existing industrial processes to generate electricity, reducing the company's carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The giant $1,5 billion plant in Manhize near Mvuma successfully switched on its furnaces recently, marking the historic start of the production of pig iron, the major raw material in the production of steel.
Disco is projected to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in the first phase rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase then 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately five million tonnes per year in the final phase.
Other products that the company will eventually produce include pipes, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts, wires, and bars.
Preliminary estimates suggest that net annual revenues are expected to hit US$10 million during the first phase and will rise to US$4,25 billion under phase four of production.
