The Maun 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 solar power complex would be owned and operated by an
independent power producer, whose identity will be revealed when the ongoing open bidding is concluded. Bids were received until June 2022. The power off-taker is
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 purchase the power for integration 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
Letlhakane Concentrated Solar Power Station
The Letlhakane Concentrated Solar Power Station , is a planned concentrated solar power station in Botswana. The owner, developer and operator of this solar power complex will be an independent power producer, whose identity will be revea ...
.
Location
The power station would be located in the city of
Maun, in
Ngamiland
The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta (Okavango). It is gove ...
, 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
The power station will be designed with
concentrated solar power (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 heat water to create steam, which is 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.Journal of Chemical T ...
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.
See also
*
List of power stations in Botswana
This article lists power stations in Botswana. This list is incomplete. You can help.
Thermal
Solar PV solar
Concentrated solar
See also
* List of power stations in Africa
* List of largest power stations in the world
References
{{P ...
Notes
References
External links
Botswana Power Corporation Official Webpage
{{Authority control
Solar power stations in Botswana
North-West District (Botswana)
Proposed solar power stations
Proposed energy infrastructure