NamPower, Namibia's state-owned power utility, has signed a contract with a Chinese joint venture to build the first utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the country and the Southern African region.
The battery storage facility is expected to be crucial in improving system stability, lowering dependency on energy imports, easing the smooth integration of large-scale renewable energy sources into Namibia's power grid, and more effectively controlling demand peaks.
The package places special emphasis on the integration of renewable energy through reinforced transmission lines and the installation of a second utility-scale battery storage facility. Under the leadership of NamPower, the national power provider, this historic endeavor represents the first energy project in Namibia to be funded by the World Bank.
A significant $138.5 million investment package to improve Namibia's electrical infrastructure has been certified by the World Bank. The package places special emphasis on the integration of renewable energy through reinforced transmission lines and the installation of a second utility-scale battery storage facility.
Namibia highlighted. In Namibia, household spend between 96 and 168 USD (2015) for energy espenditures. This is well within the range of the annualised SHS costs range between 50 and 210 USD (2015). In other countries the costs may exceed the households' expenditures.
A special arrangement between NamPower and Eskom, the South African Power utility, enables Namibia to buy and utilise the surplus energy from SA at affordable rates. We are, however, all aware of the energy crisis that has hit South Africa and that will, inevitably, also spill over to us.
With financing from the World Bank, NamPower's ambitious project is expected to drastically change Namibia's energy environment by lowering outages, promoting load growth, and creating new avenues for power trading within the Southern African Power Pool.