30 Oct 2017

 Tobela will be electrified using solar energy. and construction will commence next year under Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), Tobela Solar Power and Lesoso Solar Multipurpose Cooperative Society partnership.

Speaking during the signing ceremony between BPC, Tobela Solar Power and Lesoso Solar Multipurpose Cooperative Society at the Grand Palm on Friday, Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness and Member of Parliament for Shoshong, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele said it was a great and historic moment for the community.

He said the project began in 2010 when the community met and devised ways of attracting investment to the area. He said the idea was to lure as many investors as possible to the village to ensure that it was transformed into a modern village.

He said Lesoso Solar Multipurpose Cooperative Society and Tobela Solar Power headed the call, and that BPC also came on board.

Mr Makgalemele said after lengthy negotiation a 30 hectare piece of land was allocated in Tobela where the solar power plant would be constructed. “So far only four hectares has been utilised, and as the project expands we want to have 10 to 20 MW distributed to the village,” he said.

For his part, BPC chief executive officer, Dr Stefan Schwarzfisher said solar power plants would be constructed in 20 other villages nationwide to increase electricity connectivity.

He said the villages would be connected in the next 12 months, and that their next stop would be Seronga where the agreement would be signed next month to expand the distribution network.

Dr Schwarzfisher noted that government had signed the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions by 2036 to zero. He said green energy should therefore be utilised to reduce global warming.

“In order to achieve this objective we need to take the first steps into a greener environment by increasing our green energy mix by 25 per cent by 2025, which means that Botswana needs to establish 250 MW on solar capabilities within the next seven years,” he noted.

He said it would be achieved through constructing one MW solar electricity plant and distribution networks in Tobela followed by the electrification of 20 rural areas that were distant from the national power grid.

He added that green energy would be financed by BPC and other independent power producers, adding that BPC would apply for US $200 funding from the Climate Change Fund.

Tobela Solar Power managing director, Mr Morteza Abkenari said the company has been working on providing solar energy to Batswana for the past 42 years.

He said the time had come for Botswana to make use of freely available natural resource of solar energy to drive development. Ends