BOTSWANA BUILDING ITS FIRST SUN

All eyes on pilot solar power station
Mbongeni Mguni, 9 February 2010 (MmegiMobile)

"Developers of the country's first solar power station…are hoping the project's success will lead to the proliferation of similar stations and a shift away from non-renewable energy sources such as coal…Botswana sole power station, Morupule, is a coal-fired operation, as are the [two] planned…

"Construction of the Phakalane one megawatt solar power station, funded by the Japanese government, is due to start in September…At P83.8 million, the station will become Botswana's first photovoltaic power station, potentially opening avenues for further development of the solar power station sector. Tendering for various components of the station is set to begin in March and after completion the station will be connected to the national grid."

click to enlarge

"…[S]enior officials at the Embassy of Japan said they would closely monitor the performance of the pilot power station, with a view to possibly undertaking similar initiatives elsewhere in Botswana…[F]urther support from Japan towards photovoltaic stations would consist less of cash and more of technical support, given the confining costs of developing large solar power stations…[though with] Botswana being a member of Japan's Cool Earth partnership, there could be room for negotiations…"

click to enlarge

"For their part, players in the domestic solar energy industry said the Phakalane station would provide a practical example from which similar stations could then be set up in other towns."

click to enlarge

"A jubilant Solar Industry Association of Botswana Treasurer, Felix Chavaphi, said the Phakalane station would allow Batswana to…bust the myth that solar power is not sustainable in the long term…[because] with Botswana receiving ample sunshine, solar energy was the most logical solution to the country's short, medium and long term power supply issues. Experts estimate that Botswana receives 3 200 hours of sunshine each year or 21 millijoules per square metre per day…

"Chavaphi revealed that in some industrialised countries such as the United Kingdom, households generate their own solar power and pump into the national grid. These households then qualify for various rebates and incentives based on the amount of power they use."