Government plans to promote the development of off-grid solar generation to electrify remote areas, an approach Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo, says is more cost-effective.
Government has a long-term Rural Electrification Programme, which began in 1975 and has been the cornerstone of the country’s rural development strategy. By last August, 462 out of 565 villages were connected to the national grid, with detailed plans for further extensions.
This morning, Kenewendo said off-grid solar power would be considered for some of the remaining areas.
“We will consider the off-grid solar solutions for the hardest to reach communities, those furthest from the grid, because we are thinking of cost efficiency in how to extend our grid,” she said in response to Mmegi questions during a briefing.
Off-grid solar systems run independently from the national grid, being self-sustaining power sources installed at household or community level.
According to the World Bank, off-grid solar is the most cost-effective way to power 41% of people globally by 2030 who are still living without energy access.
“The sector already provided 55% of the new connections in sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 to 2022 - where over 80% of the unelectrified population lives,” a World Bank supported study released last October said.
The study also found that very few people currently living without electricity around the world could afford pay-as-you-go monthly bills associated with solar and other types of electricity.
Off-grid solar will be one of the main topics of the upcoming SADC Sustainability Week, scheduled to run from Monday to Friday next week.
The International Off-Grid Renewable Energy conference will take place during the week, the first time the event has been held in Southern Africa.
“We are excited to be hosting the off-grid conference because we are looking at ways to reach the hardest to reach,” Kenewendo said at the briefing. “We are looking forward to discussing solutions at the conference.”
The minister added that the SADC meeting would bring together energy ministers from the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as development finance institutions, the private sector and other financiers.
“It’s not just another conference, but a call to action and a bold step towards sustainable and resilient energy,” Kenewendo said. “The region has been plagued by an energy deficiency and we are looking at the resources we have in renewables and what we can use from innovation and technology towards harnessing these.”
