BOTSWANA: Scatec completes financing of the 1st phase of the Mmadinare solar park

Botswana will have a new photovoltaic solar power plant in the coming years. This will be with the help of the Norwegian independent power producer (IPP) Scatec, which has been awarded the construction of a 120 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant, in two phases. For the first phase, Scatec took out the debt from the South African investment company Rand Merchant Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the subsidiary of the World Bank group responsible for financing the private sector.

The solar power plant will be built in Mmadinare, near the former mining town of Selebi-Phikwe, 400 kilometers northeast of the capital Gaborone. Its two phases will require an investment of 1.4 billion Botswana pula (approximately $104 million), including $90 million dedicated to the implementation of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

“As we take the next step in our renewable energy journey in Botswana, we look forward to commencing construction of the country’s largest solar project”, says Terje Pilskog, CEO of Scatec. In addition to the EPC contract, Scatec's South African division will provide operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the Mmadinare solar PV plant for 25 years, under a power purchase agreement (CAE) signed with the public company Botswana Power Corporation (BPC).

According to Scatec, the solar power plant will prevent the emission of around 48,000 tonnes of CO₂ and power around 20,000 homes per year. The installation will increase Botswana’s installed capacity. The southern African country produces 80% of its electricity (993 MW) from Coal. Botswana, however, has opened its electricity sector to public-private partnerships (PPPs), allowing large-scale solar energy production. The first two solar power plants (4 MWp) connected to the national electricity grid were commissioned in October 2023 in Bobonong and Shakawe.