Francistown council’s solar project heats up
As part of its ambitious dream to turn Francistown green, the town council plans to install solar power on all its properties, including all 21 primary schools in the city, by the end of the year.
As well as helping fight climate change, the move is expected to greatly reduce council’s electric bill, which currently sits at around P200, 000 a month.
To get the ball rolling, council signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Francistown City Energy Hub (PTY) Ltd on 27 March, who have been tasked with the installation.
The hub is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), formed by council in conjunction with African Sun Energy (ASE), to drive the clean energy transition project.
The partnership saw the signing of two contracts – one for hire and service of equipment and the other a deed of lease.
Setting the tone for what will follow in the next eight months, this week solar was successfully installed at Tagala Primary School,
Speaking during the signing ceremony, the Town Clerk, Stephen Motlogelwa revealed council will lease the roofs of its properties to the SPV for 20 years. After that, the solar equipment will belong to council.
“This means the SPV will be benefitting from the feed-in tariff via the Botswana Power Cooperation (BPC),” he added.
