Namibia and Botswana are planning to build a 5GW solar power project in partnership with Power Africa, a U.S. government entity that aims to boost electricity investment in Africa, to help structure the deal.
The deal will see solar installations built across both countries and the power produced exported to the Southern African region.
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Agreement yet to be finalized
According to Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo, the agreement to be signed after the conclusion of discussions will facilitate a full feasibility study that will determine the size and the location of the plants.
The two countries are yet to finalize details on potential sites for the plants, cost sharing and other technical details.
Namibia currently imports over 60% of its electricity from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to meet the shortfall in domestic generation while Botswana’s electricity sector is dependent on large scale thermal coal power plants utilizing domestic coal from reserves estimated at 200 billion tonnes.
