Misgivings regarding sustainable solar photovoltaic (SPV) energy access in Botswana abound. These may have historical roots associated with and thus exacerbated by the experiences at the Motshegaletau and the Manyana SPV plants in Botswana. Those Government-initiated plants were advanced back in the 80’s to incubate public interest for a widespread adoption of SPV technology. The expected roll-out has not materialised. The perceptions on and sustainability prospects of a recently a smaller 20kWp grid-tied SPV plant installed at Mmokolodi village arouse justifiable concerns. These concerns raise high public expectations among stakeholders, insinuate sceptical criticisms by others while exerting pressure on sustainable energy development research communities. While addressing these, the paper applies a methodology based on the complexity of the energy demand, supply, access and use systems at Mmokolodi and reflects on the implications that this methodology bears on the sustainability of energy use based on the 20 kWp plant. In the process, the framework asserts that sustainable energy metabolism is only guaranteed if the SPV energy at Mmokolodi is used in the village’s functional hypercyclic compartment for an envisioned incomegeneration activity at Mmokolodi.

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