Older maps and web pages, including the address of this one, use the name Swaziland. The kingdom is now officially called Eswatini. It is one of the smallest countries in Africa, landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique, and its size shapes its energy choices as much as its climate does. This page offers a general guide. For current policies and plans, check official sources such as the energy ministry, the regulator and the national electricity company.
Four landscapes in a small space
Eswatini packs several distinct zones into a short distance from west to east. The highveld in the west is hilly and cooler, with mist and rain in summer. The country then steps down through the middleveld to the warm, drier lowveld, before rising again to the Lubombo hills along the Mozambique border. Ridges and hilltops may offer better wind than the lowlands, but steep terrain makes access roads and turbine transport more difficult.
Sunshine in the lowveld
The lowveld is generally the sunnier, drier part of the country, which makes it a natural place to think about solar. It is also farming country, with large areas of irrigated sugar cane, so solar farms would compete with valuable agricultural land. Rooftops, factory roofs and land that is not good for crops are often the first places to look.
Leaning on the neighbours
Small countries often buy a large share of their electricity from bigger neighbours through regional connections. That keeps the lights on but leaves prices and supply partly in someone else's hands. Building local solar, small hydro on its rivers, or power from sugar-mill waste can reduce that dependence. Because the grid is small, though, a single large wind or solar plant can make up a big slice of supply, so planners must think carefully about balancing it.
Financing at small scale
Projects in a small market can struggle to attract international finance, because deals are smaller and the fixed costs of lawyers, studies and approvals stay the same. Grouping projects, or linking them to regional power trading, is one way around this.
Questions to ask
- How much of the country's power comes from imports today?
- Can the grid handle a large variable plant without new storage?
- Does a solar site take land away from farming?
Related notes
See our notes on South Africa, Mozambique and Lesotho, read about batteries and storage, or go back to Country Notes.