The power crisis in South Africa has far reaching effects as its neighbors rely on power imports from the country to light up their own. In Botswana the government is looking for alternative sources of energy to supplement dwindling supplies due to the downscaling of exports by Eskom of South Africa.
The government has called on companies to do their part in ensuring sustainable and environmentally friendly sources of energy, such as the sun. One company that has stepped up to the plate for the Botswanan government is Vilart Energy. The company has been hailed for embracing green energy in powering streetlights with solar energy. The company at this time is contemplating extending the technology to boreholes, which has been used successfully in Angola and South Africa.
The co-directors of Vilart Energy, Mesh Moeti and Modirwa Kekwaletswe, held a seminar to share their experiences in the use of solar power. The seminar was attended by government officials on the local and federal level as well as executives from local companies.
The company was commended for its efforts by the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, who described their initiative as an “indication that Botswanans are proactive in the development of alternative sources of energy.”
“Solar energy is clean energy,” Kedikilwe said. “It is renewable and environment-friendly. There are no carbon dioxide emissions into the air and no oil spillage.”
Vilart is also considering using the technology to power traffic lights and to that end started up a pilot program in the capital city of Gaborone.
“I learn with delight that Vilart Energy’s technology can power traffic lights by solar energy,” Kedikilwe said. “It is a nightmare to drive in places like Gaborone when traffic lights are down.”
Speaking at the seminar, Kedikilwe said that if the solar program was widely adopted “the technology could help rural communities.” According to the minister, grid power is not the best option for rural Botswana and the government along with the Botswana Power Corporation was exploring non-grid solutions like solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.
He said the Government now recognized that solar energy was the most promising renewable energy source for Botswana.