Global Future Councils of the World Economic Forum have indicated that Namibia and Botswana are willing to jointly build a 5,000 MW mega solar project in southern Africa.
The main objective of this initiative is to satisfy the internal demand for energy but also to supply the region.
It was on the sidelines of the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa (4-6 September in Cape Town, South Africa) that both countries expressed this wish.
Thus, this project will be constituted in 3 phases. The first will concern a plant with a capacity of between 300 and 500 MW to meet the domestic demand of both countries. It will be the subject of a call for tender.
The second will focus on the construction of a power plant located between 500 and 1,000 MW. And finally the third phase will build solar parks that will provide 1,000 to 3,000 MW.
This will give a cumulative capacity of about 5000 MW, dedicated to meeting internal demand and supplying the market in this area. “The mega-project solar power market in Botswana and Namibia will supply 12 other countries in the region that could be connected via new and / or improved transport infrastructure,” said the World Economic Forum.
The project will be supported technically and financially by the AfDB, the World Bank and other institutions including the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
