Shumba Coal revealed that it plans to develop a solar power station at its mine in Botswana. The solar power station could potentially generate 200 MW of electricity to help combat power shortages at the mine. The project will initially produce 100 MW and increase to 200 MW over an unspecified period of time, according to a Shumba statement.
The project will include an initial installation of 400,000 photovoltaic cells in an area of 200 hectares, the company said. “We see solar energy as complimentary to our coal-based energy projects,” Mashale Phumaphi, Shumba’s MD said in the company statement.
Power from the station would supply copper mines in the Kalahari copperbelt, which are currently not connected to the national grid, Phumaphi added in the statement.