Namibia and Botswana’s governments are in the process of negotiating an agreement for the development of solar plants which will produce up to 5,000MW of power, which will mostly be exported to the sub-Saharan region.
U.S. initiative Power Africa is assisting in structuring the deal so that once both countries sign the agreement, a feasibility study can begin to determine where the power will be captured, stored and marketed.
“We should have already signed by now and there was a lot of movement on the agreement in March, before Covid-19 disrupted matters,” said Mmetla Masire, Botswana’s permanent secretary of mineral resources and green technology.
The project is expected to help relieve South Africa’s Eskom of its financial burden and contribute to the diversification of Namibia’s power generation.
