Tlou Energy and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that will see the company supply Coal Bed Methane (CMB) to BPC as the country moves towards power self-sufficiency.
Botswana’s first CMB agreement, which will run for five years, entails tapping into the country’s vast renewable energy resources in order to reduce use of carbon in power plants. “It is through the PPA that the parties will commit to the supply and purchase of the 10MW from Tlou Energy’s Coal Bed Methane power plant,” the CEO of Botswana Power Corporation, David Kgoboko, said at the signing ceremony. Kgoboko noted that in addition to improving the Botswana’s energy supply and contributing to an appropriate energy mix, the project will reduce reliance on diesel power stations and highly costly emergency power imports.
“As BPC, we continue to support government efforts to reform and liberalise the electricity supply industry,” he said. “These efforts are already transforming the industry with the advent of IPPs such as Tlou Energy and others to come in the near future.”
Kgoboko hailed the occasion as a “milestone for the country towards commercialisation of renewable energy resources, diversification of the energy mix and self-sufficiency in power generation”. Speaking at the same ceremony, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Lefoko Moagi, described the PPP as “a critical project” for the nation.
Minister Moagi said due to growing energy demand, the government is facilitating private sector companies to produce Coal Bed Methane in order to reduce Botswana’s carbon print. He called on the parties “to work hard to meet demand and deliver the project within time and on budget”. The supply to the BPC grid is expected to come on stream in the next 48 months.
