Here comes the Sun: renewable energies take hold in Namibia

Dec 1, 2007, 8:31 GMT

Windhoek, Namibia - Namibia has clean air, a lot of space and only 2 million inhabitants, but it is taking climate change and energy efficiency seriously with a power crisis looming in the entire southern African region.

'We have a shortage of power in Namibia and in the region,' said Maxwell Muyambo, acting deputy director in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, 'and what better way to try and relieve the situation fast than to tap what we have most of and what is most affordable - the sun.'

The government issued a directive two months ago for all public buildings and enterprises to immediately switch to solar water heaters, and the government is aiming to channel more of its brain talent into research and development.

'It's an effective way of implementing demand-side management and to show that government leads by good example,' said Muyambo.

Clemens Witbooi, maintenance controller at the University of Namibia, said there had already been major savings.

Once the initial costs of installing solar water heaters last year are paid off, 'we'll have cost savings of about 1.2 million Namibia dollars (179,000 US dollars) which we used to have to spend on the maintenance and monthly payments of the old boiler system and the purchasing of oil.'

Harald Schutt, an energy consultant, said the savings can be invested in economic growth.

'The basic difference is that any fossil power generation will require increasing payments for fuel due to high demands and shrinking supply of these,' he said.

Namibians currently spend 180 million Namibia dollars annually for electrical water heating. The government has also directed that new solar water heaters be produced locally to create new jobs.

With such moves, Schutt believes Namibia could rid itself of its dependence on neighbouring countries and fossil fuels for its energy supply.

'Namibia has such a small peak demand ... that it is technically and economically no problem at all to supply the entire electricity need through renewable resources,' he said.

Solar generation in sparsely-populated Namibia could be easily decentralized, sparing the need to maintain a large central electric supply line - a discovery other rural communities have made around the world.

In addition, the sun packs twice-the-punch in Namibia, because of its location, meaning that a square metre of solar panel in Namibia produces 2.3 Kilowatt-hours while the same size only produces 0.97 Kwh in Europe, Schutt said.

Namibia receives most of its electricity from South Africa, but this has become expensive as demand grows in that country. In addition, Nampower - Namibia's electric utility - will likely have to raise prices to compensate for the non-payment by about half of all electricity consumers who are in arrears in this poverty-stricken country.

Renewable energy could start providing cheaper electricity for household needs, through wind, geothermal, biomass which uses organic waste, solar thermal and photovoltaic energy.

'They are proven technologies that don't pose any environmental and economic risks,' Schutt said.

Namibia also has large uranium reserves, although the material needs to be enriched for adequate power generation, and the Russians are planning to build a floating nuclear power plant to serve the country.

To prepare the way for the new energy future, a government- university partnership aims to channel 30 per cent of the curricula at the Polytechnic of Namibia to renewable energy, in an initiative launched about a year ago.

'This means we don't just want it in the technology side of things, but also in the administration, business management and legal curricula to really improve the country's ability to effectively apply and manage renewable resources in future,' said Schutt.

Schutt believes Namibia is currently at crossroads between 'jumping on the old fossil bandwagon or to be the first country that goes 100 per cent for renewable paths.'

But old habits die hard and minister Muyambo, while wholeheartedly supporting renewable energies, is waving a cautious goodbye to fossil fuels.

'We can reduce the consumption of fossil fuels dramatically, but I do not think we can do without them for the next 50 years,' he said.

Aiming to reduce energy consumption, Nampower has invested 14 million Namibia dollars in energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs. These are being dished out to Namibians free of charge and could result in energy cost savings of 20 million Namibia dollars within a year.