Diamond Miner Wants 600 kW Solar Power Plant

• DTCB has launched a tender for 600 kW solar power capacity to be set up at its site in Gaborone, Botswana
• It will expand the currently under construction solar project of 350 kW capacity
• It said project design needs to be cleared by BERA before it can go ahead

A 50:50 joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and diamond miner and retailer De Beers, Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) has issued a tender for the development of a 600 kW solar PV plant at its site located in Gaborone. This is in line with the company's zero emissions strategy, it explained.

Already a 350 kW solar power plant is under construction on site that's scheduled to come online by the end of April 2021. With the expansion of the project with another 600 kW tendered, the upgraded project will have a total capacity of 950 kW.

Currently the site gets grid power from Botswana Power Corporation. DTCB said the current maximum design capacity for power on location is 3.5 MW, while the actual maximum demand is under 1 MW.

Design of the plant by the successful bidder will need to be submitted to the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) for approval. It specifies that only tier I solar panels and inverters will be selected for the project.

Last date to submit bids for the tender is April 19, 2021. Detailed document is available on DTCB's website.

In August 2020, Bloomberg reported that Botswana and Namibia plan to facilitate a feasibility study for 5 GW solar energy capacity and reduce dependence on Eskom of South Africa (see 5 GW Solar Energy For Botswana & Namibia).