Gov't warned against stand alone 8000 MW project

They noted that doing this in isolation without working in synergy with other regional planners may lead to “white elephant” investment. Cautioning government during a SADC ministerial high level policy dialogue recently, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, Nchena Mothebe, issued a warning to member states, urging them to merge their renewable energy plans.

He further raised the alarm that most of the SADC countries are developing similar models of investing in the energy sector with the aim to export, raising the question of, ‘who will be left to buy this excess power?’ Mothebe said planning is a challenge in the region. “There is a need to harmonise our planning because we are going to have what we call white elephants in terms of infrastructure once all the projects are developed and in place,” he noted. “Botswana is planning development of 1.5GW to 8GW solar plant. Other countries in the region are also planning generation with the view to export.m,” he explained.