Botswana, through its state-owned Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), has awarded Scatec the construction of a large-scale solar power plant. With a capacity of 50 MW, it will be the first industrial-scale renewable energy project in the country.
In doing so, Botswana hopes to meet its energy needs while increasing its share of renewable energy. The country is still very dependent on coal and has large reserves. As a result, Europe is consideringimporting coal from Botswana to free itself from Russian gas.
Scatec wins the contract
To enable the construction of this plant, BTC awarded the contract to Scatec ASA, a Norwegian company. Under the agreement, Scatec will handle the financing and construction of the solar plant. The Norwegian group will also own and operate the plant. Thus, Scatec will be able to recover its investment by selling the electricity produced to BTC for 25 years.
David Kgoboko, CEO of Botswana Power Corporation, gave some details about the Scatec solar plant:
“The plant is our first and largest grid-connected solar PV plant and we expect it to be operational in June 2024.”
He also added that the corporation was preparing another similar acquisition.
The location of the plant is near Selebi-Phikwe, a mining town, 400 km from Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
Scatec has, in the past, demonstrated its expertise in the development of solar projects in Africa, particularly in South Africa. The company is also involved in solar, wind and hydro projects in South America and Asia.
Botswana expands its energy supply
Botswana is not particularly advanced in renewable and solar energy. Indeed, the country has no large-scale renewable energy production infrastructure. Scatec’s project is the first of its kind. In addition, Botswana’s power needs of 600 MW are mostly met by coal-fired power plants.
Botswana has large coal reserves. However, the country wants to embark on the path of energy transition. In fact, Botswana wants 18% of its electricity generation to come from renewable sources by 2030.
To secure its energy supply, Botswana put out a tender this year to independent power producers. Indeed, the country wishes to build another power plant of 200 MW, two units of 100 MW, for 2026/2027.
