Botswana and Namibia are working with U.S. government initiative, Power Africa, to help structure the deal, Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo said in an interview on Friday. The electricity will mainly be exported across the region.“The agreement to be signed will facilitate a full feasibility study that will determine the size and the location of the plants,” he said.
The ambitious plans signal a shift for both nations that import power from South Africa’s Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. The largest utility on the continent is struggling financially and operationally to meet demand. Adding 5,000 megawatts of renewable capacity would also further diversify the energy mix of the region, as Eskom mainly burns coal.Botswana and Namibia have massive solar potential, but have yet to realize large-scale renewable projects.
Negotiations on the finer details of the agreement including potential sites within both countries, cost sharing and other technical details will happen later, Masire said.