Botswana's Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security (MMGE) has launched, this week, a net metering scheme for rooftop PV systems.
Dubbed Rooftop Solar Programme (RTS), the scheme is being supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is expected to allocate 10 MW of installed PV power in the first 12 months. Applications may be sent to the country's state-owned electric utility Botswana Power Corp starting from November 30. “Two megawatts of the capacity is reserved for domestic consumers and 8 MW for commercial and industrial consumers,” the ministry said in a statement. “The program was developed as a means of creating an enabling environment for end users who can generate their own electricity and sell to BPC.”
The scheme is also aimed at increasing the country's installed capacity. Around 29% of Botswana’s current power demand is covered by domestic coal power generation, which comes from the 600 MW coal-fired power plant known as Morupule B. The remaining 71% comprises power imports from South Africa. Due to several technical problems with the Morupule B plant, however, the country is suffering from chronic energy shortages.
According to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Botswana had only 3 MW of installed PV power at the end of last year. The country is also seeking to deploy large scale PV capacities through several tenders.
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We are so pleased to read about this development in sun-rich Botswana!
Please can you do a follow up and provide links to related websites so we can participate and support this enterprise.
It is not clear anywhere whether we, the public living in Botswana, can already install panels, purchase the meters and establish links with BPC./ Any information you can provide would be very helpful.
If this question is still actual for you (or somebody else), here`s answer
To apply for solar PV net metering scheme in Botswana you need to fill in application form, that can be found on the official Botswana Power Corporation website ( https://www.bpc.bw/ ) by clicking on “Roof-Top Solar Application” (direct link to application form – https://rts-applicationform.azurewebsites.net/ )
Also, at the top of just opened application form you can find drop-down list of useful info about your rooftop solar by clicking on “Download Roof Top Solar Guides”
P.S. I’m not on the PV-magazine team, and I’m not even from Botswana actually (although I’m looking forward to visit your beautiful country)