The Letlhakane Concentrated Solar Power Station , is a planned concentrated solar power station in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. The owner, developer and operator of this solar power complex will be an independent power producer, whose identity will be revealed when the ongoing open bidding is concluded. Bids were received until June 2022. The power generated here is expected to be bought by

Botswana Power Corporation Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is a state-owned company for electrical power generation, transmission and distribution in Botswana. It was established in 1970 and is currently the only electricity supplier in the country. BPC represents Botswan ...

(BPC), who will integrate it into the national grid, under a long-term

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

(PPA). This power station is being simultaneously developed, together with the 100 MW

Maun Concentrated Solar Power Station The Maun Concentrated Solar Power Station , is a planned concentrated solar power station in Botswana. The solar power complex would be owned and operated by an independent power producer, whose identity will be revealed when the ongoing o ...

Location

The power station would be located in the town of

Letlhakane Letlhakane is a village in the Central District of Botswana. Letlhakane is the headquarters of the Boteti sub-district. It is located south of Mmatshumo and the population of the village was 22,911 in 2011 census. Within 15–20 km of L ...

, in the Central District of Botswana, approximately northwest of the city of

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bama ...

, the district capital. This is approximately northwest of

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

, the capital and largest city of Botswana.

Overview

This power station's design calls for use of

concentrated solar power Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...

(CSP) technology. Under this system of power generation, energy from the sun is trapped by curved mirrors. The light is concentrated to generate heat in the range of . That heat is used to boil water to create steam, which is then used to turn electric generators. The design may include the use of

molten salt Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but enters the liquid phase due to elevated temperature. Regular table salt has a melting point of 801 °C (1474°F) and a heat of fusion of 520 J/g.< ...

s technology to store electricity and release it after sunset and/or before sunrise.

Timeline

The tender documents call for the power station to commence commercial operations in the 2026/2027 financial year (July 2026 to June 2027).

Other considerations

As of September 2022, Botswana's national electricity demand was estimated at 550 MW. At that time national generation capacity was 450 MW. The country imports an additional 150 MW from South Africa. The government of Botswana has plans to increase its installed capacity by developing new solar power stations, thereby achieving energy autonomy from South Africa. This power station is part of those efforts.

Notes

References

External links

Botswana Power Corporation Official Webpage
{{Authority control Solar power stations in Botswana Central District (Botswana) Proposed solar power stations Proposed energy infrastructure