Electricity imports fell 62% in the first quarter of 2026 and a 100 MW solar plant is now feeding the grid. What it means for energy projects and the businesses that run on power.
Imported electricity dropped 61.8% year on year, from 577,466 MWh in the first quarter of 2025 to 220,305 MWh in the first quarter of 2026, according to a Botswana Press Agency report on Statistics Botswana data. Eskom supplied 80.9% of imports, cross-border electricity markets 11.3% and the Southern African Power Pool 7.8%. The index of electricity generation rose 72.8% year on year.1
Generation still depends on coal. Morupule B (600 MW) and Morupule A (100 MW) are backed by emergency diesel plants.1
On 31 August 2026 a 100 MW solar PV cluster at Mmadinare was formally launched. It was built and is owned by Scatec ASA, a Norway-based independent power producer, and sells to the Botswana Power Corporation under a 25-year power purchase agreement. It has generated more than 243,288 MWh since operations began, with availability and reliability averaging above 99%. Together with other solar initiatives, renewables have added more than 209 MW to the national grid.2
The Minister of Minerals and Energy said expanding solar is central to the country’s renewable energy roadmap for 2030.2 A solar plant at Jwaneng is planned.1
The government wants local generation to meet at least 72% of demand on a sustained basis, following remediation work at Morupule B, and describes a goal of becoming a citizen-led regional energy hub.1 The 2026/27 budget names green energy generation as a diversification opportunity, though it lists no specific energy measures.3
Our reading: utility-scale plants will be built by large developers, but the demand side belongs to businesses. Commercial and industrial customers can cut their own costs with on-site solar, efficiency retrofits, and better cooling and pumping systems. These projects have a built-in return in lower running costs, and they can be funded in stages as milestones are delivered.
This article reflects NextCap’s reading of public information as at 28 October 2026. It is for general information only and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Figures are taken from the sources listed and may have been revised since. See our disclosures.
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