Botswana’s abundant renewable energy potential, particularly in solar and biomass remains largely untapped. The government acknowledges the need to create a regulatory framework to provide incentives for renewable energy development, and is working to develop a standalone renewable energy strategy.
Solar Potential
The country has over 3,200 hours of sunshine per year, and an average global irradiation of 21 MJ per m2/day throughout the country, one of the highest levels of solar irradiation in the world. The government has made initial efforts to exploit this solar potential. In July 2015, Botswana called for Expressions of Interest for a 100 MW solar PV plant, and the electricity supply outlook from the Department of Energy Affairs contains 100MW of solar capacity from 2017 onwards. The African Development Bank and the World Bank have worked with the Government of Botswana on the development of a Bankable Feasibility Study for a 100 MW Concentrated Solar Thermal Plant (CSTP).
