N$1 billion solar plant planned for Arandis
…agreement between Namibia and UK companies
NAMIBIAN power developer Natura Energy last week said it signed a strategic agreement with London-based power plant developer, owner and operator Globeleq Africa Limited (Globeleq) to co-develop an 81MW TeraSun Energy Solar PV Power Park initiative in the Erongo region town of Arandis.
The N$1 billion TeraSun Energy project aims to market and sell competitively priced electricity to large power users across Namibia through the national transmission grid. The TeraSun Energy solar power park, which will be the largest ever built in Namibia to date, will be situated in the town of Arandis, a location that enjoys one of the best solar irradiations in the country and has a potential to generate over 227 700 megawatt-hours per annum, enough to power over 68 000 average Namibian homes for a whole year. This completely private investment will be structured through multiple power purchase agreements with large power users for the supply of energy up to 25 years, according to individual customer requirements.
To date, Natura Energy has been developing the TeraSun Energy project completely independently. The strategic agreement signed with Globeleq represents a major boost for the project to move forward. Current planning sets construction commencement date in the third quarter of 2022.
This agreement brings Globeleq’s immense experience and track record to the TeraSun Energy project. Globeleq’s has established itself as a company that already has over 1400MW of power generation plants in operation across 28 projects in sub-Saharan Africa, with a further 305 MW under construction and 2 000MW in active development. Globeleq is supported by its shareholders; the development finance institutions of CDC Group Plc of the United Kingdom and Norfund of Norway.
Since 2002, Globeleq has been addressing Africa’s need for sustainable and cost-effective power. This aligns with Natura Energy’s vision to contribute to Namibia’s energy independence and infrastructural development agenda.
According to a statement the TeraSun Energy Solar PV Power Park initiative is developed to operate within the new Modified Single Buyer (MSB) regulatory framework of the Electricity Control Board. This new regulation allows independent power producers (IPPs) to sell electricity to large power users locally and internationally across the NamPower transmission network.
In the MSB regulatory framework, market players are known as Contestable Customers and Eligible Sellers. Contestable Customers are all the Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs), the City of Windhoek and all NamPower customers that are connected to NamPower’s transmission network. These Contestable Customers will be allowed to purchase electricity from IPPs such as TeraSun Energy via bilateral transactions for up to 30% of their annual energy purchases.
The motivation for this policy change in Namibia, is a drive for both electricity self-sufficiency and price competitiveness.