28 Jun 2021

Regent Hill International School has commissioned solar panels in an effort to reduce dependency on electricity from Botswana Power Corporation (BPC).

Speaking during the commissioning event in Gaborone on recently, director in the Ministry of Basic Education, Mr Peter Choto commended Regent Hill  for being the first school to undertake such a ‘great’ project. 

“Regent Hill is a beacon of hope for Batswana,” he said.

He said the project fulfilled clean and green energy as promised by Botswana to the global community, through the Paris Agreement, to reduce Botswana Carbon Foot print. Such, he said, was a step in the right direction towards reducing harmful emissions by 15 per cent by 2030.

Mr Choto said the project also fulfilled UN’s SDGs: 7, 12 and 13, by ensuring that the planet was kept safe for future generations.

He further said the school environment would provide new teaching and learning opportunities to promote the transition to clean energy in Botswana.

The US Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Craig Cloud said the country was uniquely positioned to take advantage of solar energy.

Climate change, he said, was a danger to the world, hence the use of solar energy to reduce damage to the ozone layer, since carbon emissions produced in the process of generating electricity would be minimised. He said undertaking the project at the school was important because that was where the future began. 

“These children are the ones who will be making decisions in the future, so witnessing this great project at their age will bring positive results in the future,” he added.

The director in the Department of Energy, Mr Midas Sekgabo said the department regarded the project as part of its overall approach of greening the country through roof top solar programme.

He indicated that the roof top solar project was developed as a means of creating an enabling environment for end users who could generate their own electricity and sell excess to the BPC.

“I therefore thank the management of Regent Hill International School for their part in this larger undertaking,” he said.

Mr Sekgabo said solar energy was one of the greatest natural endowments that Botswana enjoyed and his ministry was undertaking other initiatives such as procurement of Independent Power Producers to develop, own and operate two 50 megawatts solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants and 12 grid-tied solar PV plants.

He said the initiatives would revitalise a robust and vibrant renewable energy industry in Botswana, adding that such would contribute towards the national vision of creating employment for citizens. Ends