Page 12 - AfrElec Week 27 2021

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Botswana issues first large-

scale solar licence

BOTSWANA THE Botswana energy regulator has granted a assisting the southern Africa region transform
generation licence for a 100-MW solar project from its reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy,
to local firm Shumba Energy, Reuters reported, enabling a path to decarbonisation.
making it the first independent power producer Mega Solar aims to prevent emission of an
(IPP) to set up a large-scale solar plant in the estimated 6.5mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO2,
country. according to a statement from Power Africa.
Botswana does not currently have large-scale The country’s power demand currently
solar power generation and its 600-MW national stands at 550 MW. In theory the Chinese-built
energy demand is met by state-owned coal-fired Morupule B coal power plant can generate 450
plants and imports, primarily from South Africa MW, but it has only been operating at up to 33%
and Mozambique. of capacity, meaning that the country has to
Locally listed Shumba Energy plans to imple- import power from South Africa.
ment the project in two phases, with construc- Meanwhile, Kgoboko said the BPC is also
tion of the first phase of 50 MW likely to start in working on several clean energy projects. These
the next six months. include solar power plants supplying 250 MW
“With all the permits now in place we are now to be built in Jwaneng and Selebi Phikwe, as well
working on concluding the funding, with cap- as the conversion of the 90-MW Orapa plant to
ital expenditure estimated at about $80mn for gas from diesel.
the whole project,” managing director Mashale These state-owned developments contrast
Phumaphi told Reuters. with Shumba Energy’s plans, which call for the
Botswana has 212bn tonnes of coal reserves first major private solar project in the country.
and the fossil fuel is expected to continue to The country will also develop coal-bed meth-
dominate power generation in the country in ane (CBM), with Tlou Energy aiming to build up
the near future, analysts have said. to 100 MW of CBM-fired capacity at the Lesedi
But investors have often raised concerns project.
about the heavy dependence of African coun- The government plans to support $1.8bn of
tries on coal-based power plants which release investment in the power sector to meet up to 500
millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. MW of forecast new demand by 2030.
The diamond-rich country, whose economy Botswana has some of the highest levels
has contracted by close to 8% from a growth of direct normal (solar) irradiation (DNI) – a
rate of up to 4% before the pandemic, plans to measure of the amount of sunlight – at over
increase the share of renewables in its energy mix 3,000 kWh square metres per annum, according
to 18% by 2030. to Solargis.com, a global agency on solar data.
US development agency Power Africa has Phumaphi said the solar project had not
confirmed his administration’s support for signed any power off-take agreements but will
Namibia and Botswana’s Mega Solar Project, operate as a merchant power producer feeding
which aims to develop 5 GW of solar power into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
across the two countries. State-owned Botswana Power Corp. (BPC)
The Mega Solar project is a part of USAID’s is currently the sole electricity producer in
Power Africa Initiative, which is committed to Botswana.™

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