CBM Obligations15 Mar 2018 06:47
I have no idea Sentimentalist but reading back I see something of interest from the forum. Sounds to me like the Bots government have an obligation to the World Bank in regards CBM and greener energy.
In 2017 China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) submitted an offer to buy the 600MW Morupule B power station from the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). BPC said it was evaluating the offer but declined to indicate how much it was. The negotiating process is expected to be done before end-2017. If successful, the handover of the plant would be done around February or March 2018. CMEC is the sister company to the Chinese firm that built the plant in 2012, China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC).[9]
Financing
In October 2009 the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$136.4 million loan for the the Morupule B project and also approved a Partial Credit Guarantee of US$242.7 million of commercial bank financing for the project. In a media release the World Bank stated that "the financing will help secure a reliable electricity supply for the country’s economic growth and poverty reduction programs. Financing will also help Botswana prepare a robust low-carbon growth strategy (consistent with the current Tenth National Development Plan: 2009-2016), strengthen management skills in the power sector, and establish a new, independent electricity regulator."[2]
The World Bank stated that the funding was for "the construction of the 600 megawatt Morupule ‘B’ coal-fired power station, accompanied by related transmission lines and a water supply system. Moreover, the project will support the country’s evolving low-carbon growth strategy, including fast-track exploration of alternatives such as coal-bed methane (CBM), concentrated solar power (CSP), and new, emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage. In addition, the financing will provide for the establishment of an independent energy regulator, and also help to improve project implementation capacity at Botswana Power Corporation and the Botswana Ministry of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources."[2]
The World Bank's Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili claimed that support for the project "will help to not only increase generation capacity and access but also serve as a down payment for a greener future."[2]