17 Nov 2022

The University of Botswana’s (UB) solar plant will not only power the institution but have capacity building spinoffs over and above contributing to employment creation.

This was said by Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe during the project’s launch in Gaborone on Wednesday.

He said jobs created in the renewable energy sector had the potential to turn into careers and ultimately the country would benefit from the knowledge and skills.

Dr Letsholathebe challenged Sturdee Consortium, the project contractor, to ensure that unskilled labour requirements were met by the local community and lead to upskilling of tradesmen.

The minster said it was government’s agenda to ensure security of energy resources  and   pursuit of clean energy through renewable sources to meet the demands of the fast growing economy.

The project, Dr Letsholathebe said,  blended well with government’s efforts and bolstered the state’s commitment towards carbon reduction and green energy solutions.

By embarking on the project, UB was sending a strong signal that the drive to scale up renewables was not only being undertaken globally, but even in emerging economies, he said.

Dr Letsholathebe pointed out that global energy transformation was well underway with solar being central to it.

The minister explained that the chief driver of solar deployment was its business case, which he said had never been stronger.

He said the drive to address climate change was providing further impetus for solar deployment globally.

Noting that the ongoing energy transformation was reshaping electricity production, distribution and consumption, Minister Letsholathebe said with growing solar generation at both large and small scale levels, a more decentralised and democratised energy system was emerging.

As the energy transformation accelerated, broader and deeper decarbonisation efforts were required, he said.

The minister said “more emphasis must be placed on the use of solar energy for heating and cooling in buildings and industries. We live in times of extraordinary opportunities, policies, technologies and markets, aligned to accelerate transition to a more sustainable energy future”. ENDS