Namibia utility NamPower and the Ministry of Mines and Energy is set to develop a concentrated solar power – CSP, with storage plant that will be of great importance in the energy sector with capabilities of saving at least 50 MW .
The new development follows South Africa’s success in Concentrated Solar Power success under the Independent Power Production program.
Nambibia have been pushed to look to their own performance since South Africa has five CSP plants under construction and one in operation. The country has to manage complex grid stability challenges such as lack of cheap or easy fossil fuels, load distribution across large areas and lack of power generation stations near those stations.
NamPower, together with its project partners, reviewed the priority locations for CSP projects last year.
“It is common knowledge that the CSP technology is still expensive on the basis of a cost-at-plant-gate comparison. However, Namibia is optimistic that the CSP technology brings good value and if compared at a “value addition to the supply mix and grid stability” it might be highly competitive, NamPower generation projects head Margaret Mutschler told CSP Today in a recent interview.
Namibia is well known for having great renewable energies and more specifically, solar and cabinet has approved the CSP project in the country, and the project has been funded by World Bank.
