Jul 25 | 2023
Botswana’s Energy Minister to speak about status of Southern Africa’s energy security at Green Energy Africa Summit 2023
Hon. Lefoko Moagi, Minister of Minerals and Energy of the Republic of Botswana, will be sharing the dilemma and opportunities of diversifying the energy mix in Southern Africa at the Green Energy Africa Summit (GEAS) 2023 in Cape Town from October 10th-11th.
Botswana has traditionally consumed coal and diesel to generate electricity but is trying to tap into its renewable energy potential to diversify its energy mix while decreasing its reliance on power imports from South Africa and Namibia via the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). In the absence of a refinery, the country also imports all its petroleum products and fuel requirements.
To drive energy access, Botswana has an ambitions rural electrification programme but is also pushing for the monetization of its coal resources while paving the way for investments in gas and solar power generation.
Gas notably offers promising options with estimated reserves of 196 Tcf of coal bed methane. A 10 MW gas-to-power plant is notably planned by Tlou Energy and could open the sector to more investments moving forward. In addition to gas, coal fields could also provide the feedstock required to deploy coal-to-liquid technologies and produce diesel and gasoline, thereby decreasing expensive imports.
Solar capacity has remained limited but could also grow significantly over the coming years. Botswana’s resource plan of 2020 provides for more than 600 MW of solar and coal-fired power by 2026 and led to the invitation of bids from independent power producers (IPP) last year to build two solar PV plants of 100 MW each.
Hon. Lefoko Moagi joins GEAS’s high-level programme at a crucial time for Southern Africa. As a coal producer and consumer, Botswana is a critical part of the African and global debate on the energy transition and the ways to find business models that work for people and the climate without compromising on much-needed socio-economic development.
Botswana has traditionally consumed coal and diesel to generate electricity but is trying to tap into its renewable energy potential to diversify its energy mix while decreasing its reliance on power imports from South Africa and Namibia via the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). In the absence of a refinery, the country also imports all its petroleum products and fuel requirements.
To drive energy access, Botswana has an ambitions rural electrification programme but is also pushing for the monetization of its coal resources while paving the way for investments in gas and solar power generation.
Gas notably offers promising options with estimated reserves of 196 Tcf of coal bed methane. A 10 MW gas-to-power plant is notably planned by Tlou Energy and could open the sector to more investments moving forward. In addition to gas, coal fields could also provide the feedstock required to deploy coal-to-liquid technologies and produce diesel and gasoline, thereby decreasing expensive imports.
Solar capacity has remained limited but could also grow significantly over the coming years. Botswana’s resource plan of 2020 provides for more than 600 MW of solar and coal-fired power by 2026 and led to the invitation of bids from independent power producers (IPP) last year to build two solar PV plants of 100 MW each.
Hon. Lefoko Moagi joins GEAS’s high-level programme at a crucial time for Southern Africa. As a coal producer and consumer, Botswana is a critical part of the African and global debate on the energy transition and the ways to find business models that work for people and the climate without compromising on much-needed socio-economic development.
