Overview
The Challenges
Namibia’s Renewable Energy Policy had to reflect both the country’s distinctive nature, and its state of development. Factors for consideration included:
- Geography: With a population of 2.4 million people spread over a land area of 825 000km, Namibia has one of the lowest population densities (three people per km²) in the world. Added to that, the country is the driest in sub-Saharan Africa and has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year.
- Existing knowledge base: Internationally, there was limited knowledge of how to deal with Namibia’s unique geographic and institutional circumstances. Simply put, there was no template for how to roll out renewable energy in a large, sparsely populated African country that had a sophisticated existing set of institutions and a massive untapped potential for renewables.
- Infrastructure: Pegasys’s solution had to make sense of how to deliver renewable energy in a huge geography without relying solely on large-scale expansion of the conventional power grid, but rather facilitating the building of renewable energy sources on site.
The Solution
The Namibian Government lacked a coherent policy and formally articulated commitment to renewables. Its unique geographic challenges meant it was failing to meet either of those goals. Through consultation with Namibia’s key energy sector stakeholders, including the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and local government, Pegasys designed a strategy to meet the Government’s goal of promoting renewable energy and reducing its reliance on imported energy.
Pegasys successfully helped the Ministry to deliver a policy that positions Namibia as a regional leader in renewable energy, while achieving the goals of cost-effectiveness, local economic development and energy security.
When it comes to energy, having a lot of water is a huge benefit; Namibia unfortunately doesn’t. This solution had to work within the country’s unique geographic challenges, while harnessing its tremendous potential.
Daniel Seddon-Daines, Managing Principal
Results
Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy had a clear goal (expanding its renewable power generation capacity) but lacked a clear operational plan, which undermined efforts to put in place the correct enablers. This meant the required enabling policy, available technology, and regulatory and financial environment could not be put in place.
In developing the required strategy, Pegasys also had to walk the tightrope of growing Namibia’s low-carbon energy production capabilities without significantly restructuring the country’s existing power grid. By striking that delicate balance, the Namibian Government was able to present a robust Renewable Energy Policy to its parliament, which passed it in March 2019.
This policy emphasises the modernisation of the national energy sector, sets Namibia on a path to energy self-sufficiency, and eventually positions the country as a net exporter of power. It is expected to spark rapid growth in developing the national renewable energy industry and the country as a whole.
