USAID Southern Africa Energy Program Botswana Country Profile

In Botswana, the program has focused on several key initiatives. Botswana's total installed capacity for power generation is approximately 900 megawatts (MW), with more than half of this capacity based at the coal-fired Morupule B power plant. The country's national electrification rate of 70 percent is higher than many other southern African countries. However, to meet present electricity demand, Botswana relies on electricity imports from South Africa and the Southern African Power Pool, despite having sufficient natural resources to drive generation and export electricity to the region. The USAID Southern Africa Energy Program (SAEP) has assisted the Government of Botswana in developing a rooftop solar program and guiding the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) as it evolved from its beginnings in September 2017 to become a fully-functional energy regulator. The rooftop solar program, launched in November 2020, aims to allow 10 MW of rooftop solar and has resulted in 481 applications, with 159 domestic and 191 commercial customers approved for a total of 37,763 kilowatts (kW). Of those awarded allocations, 155 have fully commissioned their projects, representing 9,394 kW. The program allows consumers to self-generate electricity of up to 1 MW, reduce their monthly bills, and sell any excess power generated to the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). The rooftop solar initiative is part of Botswana's National Energy Policy of 2015, which aims to increase the contribution of solar energy to the national energy mix. The USAID Southern Africa Energy Program (SAEP) has also been working on the Mega Solar initiative, a commitment to large-scale solar development between Power Africa, the Governments of Botswana and Namibia, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Development Agency, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Finance Corporation. The initiative centers on the competitive procurement of 2 to 5 gigawatts of solar power in Namibia and Botswana by 2040. SAEP provided support to the Governments of Botswana and Namibia in establishing the country-level project structures to guide project implementation. In 2020, SAEP supported Power Africa with a white paper on the possibilities for the Mega Solar initiative, which has proven to be a useful guide for the governments of Botswana and Namibia as they develop large-scale solar development. Between October 2022 and March 2024, SAEP assisted with donor coordination and operational support for Mega Solar, including ad-hoc technical assistance, in-country donor workshops, and direct secretarial and management support to the Botswana and Namibia Technical Advisory Committees and Steering Committees. The Mega Solar Regional Market Study (RMS) was approved by the AfDB in May 2023. The RMS is a critical milestone that will lead to clear demand and supply indicators and advise on the potential sizes of generation facilities that can be built in both countries, focusing on the export of electricity. SAEP coordinated the finalization of data for the AfDB's RMS approval package and terms of reference for the AfDB to procure a consultant for the study. The RMS is expected to be completed in October 2024. SAEP also provided operational and regulatory advice to BERA as it evolved from its beginnings in September 2017 to become a fully-functional energy regulator. SAEP supported BERA in developing a 12-month operationalization plan and assisted the regulator to review, revise, and develop regulations and policies, including electricity licensing procedures. SAEP further supported BERA in the analysis of BPC's applications for tariff changes in 2020, 2022, and 2024. In the 2024 application, SAEP's recommendations to the regulatory board have resulted in approximately $6.2 million in savings for customers. The BPC, Botswana's national electricity utility, expects energy demand to more than double by 2035 due to population growth and an expanding industrial sector. SAEP provided support to BPC to procure 20 MW of additional solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. In February 2020, BPC issued a request for proposals for the procurement of privately owned, operated, and maintained projects. SAEP supported BPC to develop the procurement documents, including updated criteria and documents. Additionally, SAEP assisted BPC to respond to questions from bidders and served as the moderator for the virtual bidder's conference.