15MW waste energy power plant on cards
Pauline Dikuelo | Friday January 16, 2015 12:56
In an interview with BusinessWeek, Kgatleng Councillor Mpho Moruakgomo said KDC is currently in negotiations with the Botswana Power Corporation to secure an independent power producing licence as well as a power purchase agreement.
“We are currently in negotiations to get the greenlight to generate 15MW of power using 400 tonnes of waste from the Kgatleng district and surrounding areas,” said Moruakgomo who added that they already have sponsors on board.
This project, which is estimated to cost $112 million (P1.07 billion), will be operating at the Pilane landfill where a carbon capture plant will also be erected. According to Moruakgomo, this is one of their efforts as councillors to try and make a difference in the lives of Batswana as the project is forecast to employ about 500 people.
“This initiative will help with the utilisation of waste as we will be recycling it as well as creating employment. We further intend to mine it in future and get more waste from other districts, as we will be growing,” added Moruakgomo who stressed that the project will be in operational once they get the licences.
The plant will use solid toxic and medical waste as raw material and will produce residues that can also be used in road maintenance.
According to the councillor, the project will be in two stages with the first phase comprising of the waste energy power station at a cost of $52 million. The second phase entails a carbon capture plant, which is estimated to cost $60 million.
Apart from the coal fired power station at Morupule, Botswana’s only other alternative source of electricity is a 1.3MW Photovoltaic power plant at Phakalane
Furthermore Kgatleng District has embarked on other initiatives, which includes the creation of the ongoing nature reserve park that is said to be waiting the Environmental Assessment.
These initiatives compliment the government’s efforts to encourage local authorities to drive economic development, growth and become self-sustainable. Botswana Association of Local Authority (BALA) is spearheading these efforts.
“To bridge the communication gap and improve efficiency, BALA have negotiated with Mascom to give councillors tablets at a reasonable price so that they can easily get updates on council meetings and urgent matters without travelling distances to acquire such,” added Moruakgomo
He also highlighted that they have also partnered with Metropolitan Botswana to offer councillors the funeral policy and savings scheme. National Development Bank also has agreed to help councilors with loans to help them invest especially in property, as they believe in wealth creation.
“Some of our councillors will get training at University of Botswana as an endeavour to build capacity as we believe even after their council term ends, they should still be self sustainable.” He said Banks like Barclays Bank have embraced this as well and partnered with BALA by organising a three-day investment pitso next week, a platform they will use to identify local governments operational bottlenecks, liquidity constraints and help foster mutually beneficial cooperation between the public private sectors. This week, BALA partnered Barclays Bank Botswana to improve local governments’ operating environment. The bank has organised a three-day Investment Pitso to be held next week in Francistown, a platform it will use to identify local governments’ operational bottlenecks, liquidity constraints and help foster mutually beneficial cooperation between the public and private sectors.
About 250 delegates, who include councillors and economic planners, are expected to attend the workshop.