Renewables Readiness Assessment Botswana

The official launch of the Renewable Readiness Assessment (RRA) Botswana served as a platform for government officials, partners, and other stakeholders to discuss the recommendations for improving renewable energy development in the country. The RRA, developed in close coordination with the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security (MMGE), provides a set of six key thematic areas to be carried out in line with the country’s energy strategy and plans. Within these areas, the RRA process identified and recommended actions for the short and medium term that could create more conducive investment environment while addressing key challenges to renewable energy development in the country.

Botswana considers energy as a key driver for economic growth, particularly in the most important sectors of the economy - industry, services, agriculture, and tourism. The country’s energy diversification strategy is centered around renewables where the government has a target of achieving 15% renewable energy access by 2030. In its initial Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Botswana committed to a reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030, taking 2010 as the base year. The recommendations provided in the RRA are expected to provide a solid basis for creating a more conducive investment environment for renewable energy development in line with these targets.

This Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) presents clear and practical steps to maximize the country’s use of renewables in driving sustainable economic growth. It identifies the need to adopt a broader range of renewable energy technologies to diversify the Botswana’s power generation away from coal, generate socio-economic value and fulfil the country’s environmental and climate commitments. Importantly, the assessment finds that through strengthening institutional and policy frameworks, establishing adequate regulatory frameworks and policy support mechanisms, de-risking renewable energy procurement, developing local industry, diversifying energy use in transport, building capacity of both local financing institutions and project developers will unlock further investment in the sector and reinforce Botswana’s renewable energy targets.