The construction of a three-megawatt solar-powered station in Bobonong is moving Botswana one step closer to its goal of producing environmentally friendly energy.The project is one of the first private renewable energy projects in the country and was awarded to South African firm Sturdee Energy in 2019, along with a second solar project for one megawatt in Shakawe.Under the power purchase agreement, the company will sell clean electrical energy to the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for 25 years.The Bobonong project is expected to produce 8 500 000 kWh of power per year and will be supplied through a 7.5km, 66kV overhead line, from the project site through to the BPC substation just outside Bobonong.Incorporating state-of-the-art technology, it consist of more than 7000 bifacial solar panels to harvest the sun’s energy in the front of the panel as well as from the back of the panel to capture the ref lection of the sun off the ground.In March, BPC signed three more solar power purchase agreements for Lobatse, Maun and Gantsi, each with a four-megawatt capacity. It is also currently in negotiations for a solar power purchase agreement of four megawatts for Molepolole and a 50-megawatts site in Selebi-Phikwe.
