Solar Power in Namibia

Canadian Solar just announced it has successfully constructed and started commercial operation of a solar power plant in Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Canadian Solar is one of the world’s largest solar power companies, and this project represents their first enterprise in Africa. This is an exciting advancement for Namibia because despite being a suitable environment for solar power production, by the end of 2017, Namibia only had 40MW of cumulative solar capacity. The Canadian Solar project in Keetmanshoop will increase this cumulative solar capacity by 6MW. (The United States by comparison has over 50 GW (gigs-watts) of installed photovoltaic capacity.) Namibia Power Corporation (Proprietary) Ltd. can buy the energy generated by Canadian Solar at the rate of NAD1.37 (US$0.10) per kWh under a 25-year contract. Currently in Namibia, electricity costs between 13 and 30 US cents. (In the US, for comparison, the average cost of a kWh is $0.12.)

average solar irradiation

Namibia has some of the highest irradiation levels in the world, therefore solar power can be an incredibly efficient way to generate power in this area. The major drawbacks of solar power are the initial investment in the solar cells, the cost of storing the energy, and the large area solar farms require. Since Canadian Solar owns the solar farm, Namibia did not have to front the construction costs. Additionally, because Namibia has large swaths of uninhabited land, it is an ideal location to create large solar farms. Batteries are ever improving, and therefore the cost of solar power will further decrease in the coming years.

Currently approximately 73% of Namibia’s energy supply comes from oil, therefore the movement towards solar power represents a substantial improvement in sustainability. However, there is also a concern with large foreign companies owning the plants that Namibia relies on to supply electricity, because much of this revenue will go overseas. Going forward as the cost of solar cells decreases, Namibian companies will hopefully be able to create and maintain solar farms.

-Christina Savvides

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_the_United_States

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/10/27/141766341/the-price-of-electricity-in-your-state

https://www.pv-tech.org/news/canadian-solar-breaks-into-africa-with-6mw-project-completed-in-namibia

http://www.npc.gov.na/?wpfb_dl=229

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SolarGIS-Solar-map-World-map-en.pnghttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SolarGIS-Solar-map-Africa-and-Middle-East-en.png