Botswana and Namibia have announced plans to develop a 5,000 megawatts (5 Gigawatts) solar energy project, a move that seeks to produce electricity mainly for export across the region, and reduce their reliance on power imports from South Africa.
For the project, the two countries have also partnered with Power Africa; a US government-led initiative, coordinated by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Under phase I, the idea would be to procure 300 MW to 500 MW capacity to cover future domestic demand only. Thereafter, phase 2 will see 500 MW to 1 GW capacity to be procured to cover regional demand within the South African Power Pool (SAPP) or through bilateral agreements. Under phase 3, between 1 GW to 3 GW capacity will be procured to meet demand in SAPP and Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP).
The electricity will mainly be exported across the region.
According to the Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2020-2024 of SolarPower Europe (SPE), Namibia was among the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to have installed over 100 MW on-grid PV in 2019, with 130 MW added. The 5 GW project with Botswana, if realized, will help the country in its renewable energy target of 70% for its energy mix to be achieved by 2030.
See Also:
