In southern Africa, renewable energy producers Solarcentury Africa and SolNam Energy have obtained approval from the Namibian authorities for the construction of a 60 MWp solar power plant. The electricity generated will be fed into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
The opening up of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) to independent power producers (IPPs) is attracting renewable energy investors to the south of the continent. This is the case for Solarcentury Africa and SolNam Energy, who have just obtained a production license from Namibia’s Electricity Control Board (ECB) for a 60 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant.
The electricity generated will be fed into the SAPP from the Kokerboom substation in southern Namibia. According to Solarcentury, the project, which will reach financial close by the end of 2024, will help Namibia “meet its climate change targets and move away from fossil fuels, as pledged at the recent COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)”.
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In addition to Solarcentury and its partner SolNam Energy, other companies have obtained authorization from the Namibian authorities to produce renewable energy for the regional interconnected grid. Such is the case of Emerging Markets Energy Services Company (EMESCO), which has obtained ECB approval for a 125 MW photovoltaic solar power plant in Karasburg, a town in southern Namibia, just 110 km from Ariamsvlei, on the border with South Africa.
Like Emesco, Solarcentury and SolNam are building their solar power plants under the Modified Single Buyer Scheme (MSB). The framework set up by the Namibian government aims to encourage IPPs to invest in renewable energies and sell their output to the utility. And unlike the pre-existing model, the MSB authorizes these companies to produce electricity in Namibia and make it available to the regional SAPP common market.
Jean Marie Takouleu
