The United States (US) Embassy on Thursday signed a grant to the tune of US$600k (M8.6 million) through One Power company for the construction of solar power generation in Mafeteng. Speaking at the ceremony the Acting Minister of Energy and Meteorology Mokoto Hloaele congratulated One Power (Pty) Ltd for getting this important grant which he said was not only going to benefit the company but also the country's economy, the nation through job creation and Lesotho as a whole. He said the importance of the grant to the One Power and the Kingdom of Lesotho cannot be overemphasised saying amongst others “it is going to help the country to close the deficit of power generation in Lesotho and therefore reduce the amount of electricity imported from the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique to meet our electricity demand.” He added: “Currently Lesotho has a peak demand of 165MW of electricity but only generates 72MW of reliable power at 'Muela in the Botha-Bothe district meaning that we import over 90MW of electricity from other countries to supplement the limited power generation. That means more is needed with the increasing electrification of villages in Lesotho and envisaged mushrooming of big industrial projects resulting from the recent economic laboratories in Lesotho.” “Electricity consumption is expected to increase significantly in the near future resulting in massive increase of imported electricity and erosion of more Maloti to other countries. However, this solar power plant by One Power supported by the US is going to help electricity deficit. This project is not only going to save our limited funds for other local development projects but it is going to give us more flexibility to control our electricity process better in future,” he said. Mr Hloaele indicated that apart from the stated benefits, the solar power generation plant will go a long way in helping Lesotho realise a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the Agenda 2063 goals saying in particular “it is going to help in easy achievement of SDG Seven of the 'Affordable and Clean Energy' as well as Agenda 2063 goal Seven of 'Environmentally sustainable and climate resilient economies and communities'. This is because One Power is going to generate clean and renewable electricity from the sun which is one of the important resources of Lesotho, meaning that the environment is not going to be polluted in any way hence the quality of life for every living creature will be better. It also means that the electricity generated will be affordable to many people.” Mr Hloaele thanked the US government for always contributing directly and indirectly to the advancement and success of Lesotho and the Basotho nation in general saying with this support they are immeasurably supporting Lesotho to realise the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) which are geared towards the reduction of the advancement of climate change by eliminating or reducing its causes and adapting to the emerging climate conditions. “Clean and renewable energy projects like this one will in the long run help to improve our economic and climate vulnerabilities and contribute massively to reducing climate related risk in Lesotho and sub-continent,” he said. Speaking at the same event, US Ambassador to Lesotho Rebecca Gonzales said US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) supports the development of well-planned, sustainable infrastructure projects in areas that host countries deem priorities saying “One Power project and this partnership represent just that, support for an important solar generation project that was competitively and openly tendered here in Lesotho.” She noted that electricity is both lifeblood of economic development and an essential element for improving quality of life saying studies show that the costs of producing electricity are far less than the economic costs of not having it. In Lesotho and across Sub-Saharan Africa there is a need to generate new power to improve access to existing power and to diversify the energy generation mix. She added: “The US through Power Africa has been working with the government and private sector stakeholders to assist in these objectives. To succeed, Power Africa depends on strategic relationships, including the strong partnership with the ministries of Energy and Meteorology, and Finance, Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC), Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) among many others.” Ambassador Gonzales highlighted that she learned a good deal about the vast potential of renewable energy in Lesotho saying it is fully within Lesotho's capacity to become a net exporter of energy in the future adding that its competitive advantage can be used not only to enhance the quality of life of Basotho people but also to make solar power Lesotho's most economically important natural resource after water. She emphasised that the US through the Embassy and Power Africa is committed to assisting Lesotho in any way possible to unlock its energy potential. “We all believe that the US and Lesotho have much to gain from strengthening commercial ties. USTDA, Power Africa and the US are proud to support partnerships and projects that will do just that,” she said. She commended One Power Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder Matt Orosz who was once a Peace Corp volunteer and served in Phamong in Mohale's Hoek almost 20 years ago and has now returned to Lesotho to serve in other capacity to build part of the country's renewable energy infrastructure. She stated that it was in Phamong where Orosz was struck by the lack of electricity in his village and decided he would do something about it one day. On his side One Power Founder and CEO Orosz thanked the US Embassy for the support saying “the project is going to help Lesotho achieve its green renewable energy.” He said: “The 25MW that we are going to generate through the project is going to protect the country against Eskom load shedding that is experienced mostly in winter. Through the project, we are also going to create about 100 jobs which will be an answer to the country's plight of unemployment.” One Power was incubated by the department of Appropriate Technology Services (ATS) under the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology. The solar power project is going to benefit three villages under Ts'anatalana Community Council in Mafeteng. Lena