A group of Chinese companies led by China Harbour Engineering Co has won a contract to build a 100MW solar plant in Botswana, the country’s second utility-scale renewables facility.
China Harbour is partnering with China Water and Electric Development Co and local investors for the project which is due to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2026. Zhitong Finance put the value of the contract at US$78.3-million (R1.4-billion).
President Mokgweetsi Masisi attended the contract signing Monday in Jwaneng, a diamond mining town 200km west of the capital, Gaborone.
Botswana, a semi-arid country dominated by the Kalahari Desert, receives some of the world’s highest levels of sunshine throughout the year, but coal dominates electricity production, with renewable energy currently accounting for just 2% of generation.
Under the government’s revised Integrated Resource Programme that details the generation to be bought or installed until 2040, Botswana intends to ramp up its renewable energy generation to 50% of demand by 2036.
In March, Scatec began building a 100MW solar power plant in the country’s north-east, with the first 60MW due to come online this year.
More facilities
The ministry of minerals & energy is finalising procurement of a 200MW concentrated solar-thermal power plant and an additional 100MW solar facility, Masisi said.
The government is also working with the World Bank to develop two 50MW battery storage systems that will support the Jwaneng and Scatec projects, the president said. — Mbongeni Mguni, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP