Search results

Botswana has released its 2020 integrated resource plan (IRP), which provides policy scenarios for the generation mix until 2040, approving procurement of 795MW of new capacity at the same time. This includes 135MW of solar PV to come online next year, and 10MW-100MW of coalbed methane generation (CBM) by 2025. Procurement is well under way for both technologies, with five bidders submitting proposals for two 50MW plants in December and Tlou Energy and Sekaname both negotiating CBM projects with the government.

Mineral resources, green technology and energy security minister Lefoko Maxwell Moagi on 4 November launched a programme allowing the owners of rooftop solar PV to sell power to the grid. The government has allocated 10MW to the scheme during its first year, with 2MW reserved for residential customers and the remainder allocated to commercial and industrial consumers.

Investors, contractors and financiers have been reassessing southern Africa’s potential to emerge as a natural gas producer, supply hub and importer of molecules and electrons for gas-to-power (GTP) schemes. Mozambique’s emergence as an LNG exporter gives it potential to develop new gas-based industry and infrastructure. Developments in southern Mozambique further suggest it could drive a wider regional industry, with more gas exported by pipeline.

Mineral resources, green technology and energy security minister Lefoko Moagi has said Botswana will look to procure 645MW of new capacity by 2026. Moagi made the comments in parliament in August while presenting his ministry’s proposals for the mid-term review of the country’s National Development Plan (NDP).

Australia’s African Energy Resources (AER) on 9 March announced the signing of a generation licence with the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority for the 300MW Sese coal power plant in eastern Botswana, south of Francistown. This marks the final regulatory approval required for the project, although financing and transmission infrastructure are yet to be secured. The Sese project is owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FQM) (66.7%) and AER (33.3%).

The deadline for a Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) request for qualification from developers for two 50MW solar PV projects has been extended from 11 to 27 September. The tender is the latest iteration of the country’s unsteady attempts to introduce solar into the power mix, which began in 2017 with a tender for private partners for BPC to develop a 100MW plant.

Botswana’s Shumba Energy announced on 2 September that it has formed a joint venture partnership giving it 80% of the equity in Coal Petroleum Ltd (CoPet), a private company developing a commercial-scale liquid fuels production facility called Project Tsosoloso.CoPet has partnered with Powerchina International Group Limited and Wison Group, Chinese specialists in coal-based power and coal-to-liquids technologies, which are carrying out a bankable feasibility study.

The Sekaname and Lesedi coal bed methane (CBM) projects have both been selected as preferred bidders in a government tender for up to 100MW of CBM power following a long-drawn-out tender process that only involved the two projects. The process is not over, as the pair have entered what the government calls an adjudication period in which the project sites will be inspected, and the companies must negotiate 30-year power purchase agreements with Botswana Power Corporation.

Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) has agreed to sell 70MW of power to Botswana under a five-month contract running from May to September. EDM director of system operations and markets Aderito de Sousa told a news conference in Maputo that Mozambique had previously exported electricity to Botswana from 2014 to mid-2017. During a visit by President Mokgweetsi Masisi to Mozambique in January, the Botswana delegation asked for the arrangement to be revived for a limited period.

Botswana Power Corporation has issued a request for proposals relating to the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of 12 solar photovoltaic power projects. The tender notice offered no details, but tender documents are available from Botswana Power Corporation’s procurement office on payment of 1,500 pula ($143). Bids are due by 29 March.Contact: Botswana Power Corporation, Procurement Office, Plot 1222, Nkrumah Road, Light Industrial Site, Gaborone, [email protected]. Tel: +267 3603239/446.

Denver, Colorado-based Strata-X Energy has received official approval for its environmental management plan (EMP) for a planned coalbed methane (CBM) drilling programme of up to 20 wells. With approval of the EMP, the company said it could now move forward with a planned two-well drilling campaign on its Serowe project in the Kalahari Basin, which has a prospective resource of 3.3tcf. ASX-listed Strata-X said it would finalise contractors in mid-December and drilling was planned to start in late January.

Tlou Energy has begun production drilling operations at the Lesedi coal bed methane (CBM) project. The first pilot well, Lesedi 3P, spudded on 16 October. Tlou will drill the wells as dual lateral pods, comprising a single vertical production well intersected by two lateral wells. This will be followed by production testing with the potential to convert a significant portion of gas resources to firm reserves and to deliver gas to a proposed central processing facility and power station nearby.Production start-up from the pilot wells is targeted for early 2019.

Tlou Energy announced on 28 June that drilling of production wells is set to begin in Q3 following the arrival of a core drilling rig at the company’s Lesedi and Mamba coal bed methane (CBM) projects. The new production wells will be dual lateral wells intersecting a vertical well and located near the proposed central processing facility. Tlou is working with geological and drilling consultants to optimise production well design to enhance flow rates for the wells, which could provide sufficient gas for 2MW of power generation.

Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has signed a contract with GE Power to use its grid control centre software platform. The deal was signed on 24 May but announced on 9 July. GE Power will design, supply, install, test and commission an energy management system at BPC’s headquarters in Gaborone and back-up control centre in Francistown. As well as improving grid efficiency, the new system is intended to help the country operate more effectively within the regional Southern African Power Pool by providing better monitoring and asset management.

Tlou Energy announced on 6 June that it had completed a £1.4m ($1.9m) share placing to raise funds to progress its coalbed methane (CBM) project and launched an entitlement offer to raise a further £3.2m.Tlou, whose shares are listed on London’s AIM and the Australian Stock Exchange, said the proceeds would be used for drilling of production pods, core-hole drilling, regulatory approvals and working capital. The production pods consist of two lateral or horizontal wells that intersect a vertical well.