(Ecofin Agency) - In Botswana, Tlou Energy on Tuesday announced that it has renewed its agreement with General Electric and IK Holdings for the supply of gas-to-power solution for the country.

The African-focused company said the deal signifies that Tlou and its partners will share infrastructure and technical support.

Tlou has been given the go-ahead by the government of Botswana to discuss the gas supply, construction and operation of the 50MW power generation facility the partners plan to construct.

The partners also plan to supply gas to the existing 90MW Orapa power station operated by state-owned Botswana Power Corporation, Energy Voice reports.

The deal is to expire by November 30 and may be terminated at any time by any party, Tlou said.

In July, the government of Botswana awarded Tlou Energy and Sekaname Private Limited contracts to each develop a 50MW Coal-Bed-Methane (CBM) gas-fired power station as the country moves forward with the generation of power from natural gas.

According to Tlou Energy’s Managing Director, Gaabake Gaabake, the company was prepared to benefit from the government’s new independent guarantee of contingent resources estimated at about 3.3 trillion cubic feet.

The government plans to add about 820MW of power into the national grid from local coal-fired and solar-powered generation plants by 2020. The country intends to export the excess power generated to meet the rising regional demand amid power scarcities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Angola and Swaziland among others.

Anita Fatunji