By Olufemi Terry and Rhoda MSHANA
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank, has approved a $1 million grant to facilitate Botswana’s transition to clean energy . The technical assistance project supports the Government of Botswana in closing critical gaps in policy, regulatory and legal frameworks, which were identified at the Africa Energy Market Place(AEMP 2019). These include the introduction of least-cost planning, reduction of adverse environmental impacts and support for increased private sector participation in renewable energy (RE) generation investments.
Some of the notable outputs from the project include a national Grid Code, Electricity Cost of Service Study (CoSS) and licensing framework to regulate power sector activities. The outputs from the project will contribute towards the implementation of Botswana’s first Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), thus facilitating investments in new solar PV and wind generation capacity, amounting to at least 100MW and 50MW, respectively, by 2030. Through its support for the further development of the renewable energy generation sector in Botswana, the project also contributes to the Mega Solar initiative, launched in 2021 in collaboration with Namibia and development partners, with the aim of building renewable energy capacity in the two countries, to enable electricity exports to the rest of the region.
Conceptualised under SEFA’s Green Baseload component, the project “will contribute to the development of essential building blocks to support Botswana’s energy transition “, said Dr. Daniel Schroth, Acting Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the African Development Bank. ‘’It has been a long journey to access this AfDB grant facility,” observed Duncan Morotsi, Chief Operating Officer at the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA), “The approval is a great step forward in the regulator’s quest to facilitate independent power producers (IPPs), renewable energy sources and cost reflective tariffs in Botswana. It was worthwhile pursuing this technical assistance from the AfDB’’.
BERA is responsible for providing an efficient energy regulatory framework for Electricity, Gas, Coal, Petroleum products, Solar and all forms of renewable energy. It was established by the Botswana Energy Regulatory Act 2016 and started its operations on the 1st September, 2017.
The Botswana Energy Regulatory Act has a multi-sector focus and has tasked BERA with oversight over the electricity, petroleum products, coal, natural gas, bio-energy, solar energy, renewable energy resources and other energy sectors. In terms of the Act, BERA shall be responsible for setting and maintaining service standards; ensuring sustainable and secure supplies in the energy sector; protecting and preserving the environment; and maintaining best international regulatory practice.
ABOUT SEFA
SEFA is a Multi-Donor Special Fund that aims to unlock private sector investments that contribute to providing universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa strategy and Sustainable Development Goal 7.
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For more information, please contact the African Development Bank’s Olufemi Terry, Communication and External Relations Specialist on o.terry@afdb.org and Rhoda MSHANA, Chief Power Specialist, on r.mshana@afdb.org