04 Nov 2020

Batswana have been challenged to explore business opportunities in solar by setting up manufacturing plants for renewable energy equipment.

Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Mr Lefoko Moagi was speaking at the launch of Rooftop Solar Programme in Gaborone on November 3.

Rooftop Solar Programme is envisaged to offer Batswana an opportunity to generate their own electricity and sell excess to Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). 

Mr Moagi urged Batswana to also participate in renewable energy industry downstream activities.

To be eligible for the programme, one had to be a BPC consumer, own or have title to the Rooftop Solar System as well as the metre that would measure the import/export of the electricity, the minister explained.  

The system would operate on a first come-first served basis through an online application which could be accessed directly on the BPC website.

Approved rooftop solar project would be given a 15-year interconnection agreement and/or licence.  

Mr Moagi said the programme would be open for applications from November 30 until the aggregate capacity limit of 10MW was reached. 

He said a P1 000 application fee would be levied on potential consumers.  

“Any excess energy exported by the consumer will be rolled over to the next billing cycle for a duration of 12 months, upon which time, BPC will pay the consumer for the remaining credits at the cost of generation rate at 81.51 thebe/kWh. This rate will be reviewed annually,” he stated.   Noting that solar energy was one of the greatest natural endowments that Botswana enjoyed, Minister Moagi said the programme was meant to exploit the resource.

 He said the programme also presented a suitable mechanism to facilitate private sector participation and to increase the uptake of solar energy. 

It entails the development of guidelines, regulations, standards, tariffs as well as review of implementation processes such as metering, interconnection, vending and billing, all of which have been successfully completed, tested and approved.  

The minister said the guidelines were developed through a series of stakeholder engagements, to define the framework and administrative processes for the implementation of small-scale grid-tied solar PV systems.

The programme is scheduled to run for a period of three years and in the first 12 months, its system-wide aggregate capacity, starting this month, is 10 megawatts (MW). 

Mr Moagi said 20 per cent of the capacity would be reserved for domestic consumers and 80 per cent for commercial and industrial consumers.

The maximum capacity for a single domestic consumer is 35 kilowatts (kW) while for commercial and industry, it is one megawatt (MW).ends