Botswana issues licence for first large-scale solar power plant

• 2 years ago (2021-07-07)
• David Flin

Africa 303 Solar 243

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The Botswana energy regulator has issued Shumba Energy with a generation licence for a 100 MW solar power project. This will make it the first IPP to set up a large-scale solar power plant in the country. Shumba Energy plans to implement the project in two phases, with construction of the first phase of 50 MW likely to start in the next six months.

Mashale Phumaphi, Managing Director of Shumba Energy, said: “With all the permits now in place, we are now working on concluding the funding, with capital expenditure estimated at about $80 million for the whole project.”

Botswana has some of the highest levels of direct normal (solar) irradiation (DNI), according to Solargis.com, a global agency on solar data.

Phumaphi said that the solar project had not signed any power off-take agreements but would operate as a merchant power producer feeding into the Southern African Power Pool.

Botswana plans to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix to 18 per cent by 2030.