BPC intensifies energy independence efforts
Correspondent | Tuesday March 22, 2022 06:00
This commitment comes just two days after Tlou Energy announced its commitment to supply up to 10MW of electricity produced from local natural gas fields to BPC.
Recognising the pressure that constantly increasing electricity tariffs are placing on ordinary Batswana, BPC has intensified its efforts to seek out private investors to increase local electricity production in the country to relieve national reliance on foreign energy.
Akuo Energy is the most recent partner in this bid to increase Botswana’s electrical independence by exploiting the nation’s virtually untapped solar energy potential from its vast sun-kissed arid plains.
The French energy company signed three Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with BPC on Thursday which dictated that Akuo will supply three solar panels capable of producing 4MW of solar energy each, for a total of 12MW of solar energy.
The panels will be installed in and operated from Gantsi, Lobatse and Maun by Akuo in partnership with a locally based 100% citizen-owned company, Folosha Investments.
The panels are expected to come into commercial operation in late 2023 and supply continuous power for the duration of the 25 year PPA contract.
According to BPC chief executive officer (CEO) David Kgoboko, this PPA will improve the security and reliability of energy supply in the country, improve our energy mix to reduce Botswana’s carbon footprint and promote effective participation of Batswana in the economic growth.
“These are exciting times for BPC, and we couldn’t be readier to play a pivotal role of off-taking power from Independent Power Producers (IPP) thereby supporting government’s efforts to liberalise the electricity supply industry,” Kgoboko said.
“We would like to reaffirm our support towards these reforms, which are aimed at improving customer experience and providing affordable power to the nation,” he added.
The signing of this PPA comes two days after Tlou Energy signed a contract with Zismo Engineering on Tuesday to construct a 100km transmission line to supply the national electric grid with up to 10MW of natural gas-based energy, as per Tlou’s PPA with BPC in October last year. Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology And Energy Security (MMGE) Nchena Mothebe expressed that these PPAs are a demonstration of the government’s commitment to securing clean and sustainable independent energy in Botswana.
“Since the inception of the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA), we are witnessing substantial private sector interest in the electricity supply industry, which can be attributed to private sector confidence in the regulatory framework and environment,” Mothebe said.
“The authority has to date issued three licences for exporting IPPs, three licences for local generation, and has approved three PPAs for IPPs for local generation. This signals a progressive regulatory environment,” he added.
Mothebe also expressed that the government has developed an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which will see the development of nearly 800MW of local energy production added to the grid over 20 years. “The implementation of the IRP has commenced with the ongoing solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 135MW, 50% of which have already been procured including the Maun, Lobatse, and Ghanzi, which PPAs are being signed,” he said.
“The remainder are undergoing procurement. Commercial operation of the projects will commence in the current year (2022) and the 135MW capacity should be on the grid by mid-2024,” he informed.
Other projects include an envisaged 300MW Coal, 10MW CBM (coal-bed methane), 200MW CSP (concentrated solar power), 50MW wind projects and a 100MW Solar PV (photovoltaic) project. Currently, Botswana’s peak energy demand stands at 610 MW and grows with the continued national development of infrastructure and population growth. Should the IRP be successful, Botswana will be able to generate more than its peak demand independently.
This will allow the country to transform itself from a net importer of electricity to a net exporter of electricity to neighbouring SADC countries.