Namibia - Second firm to build wind energy plants in Namibia

Electrawinds NV, a Belgian privately owned company will soon roll out a 120-million Euro, 100 MW wind energy plants in the coastal parts of Namibia, becoming the second privately owned firm to venture into this sector. Electrawinds NV, which has submitted an application for a license to Namibia's energy regulator, Electricity Control Board (ECB), said it intends to initially set up two 50 MW each wind farms in Luderitz and Walvis Bay.

The electricity generated would be sold to national power utility, NamPower. Environmentalists view wind energy as a renewable and clean technology to generate power. The ECB confirmed that it is reviewing the Electrawinds NV's license application.

In papers submitted to the ECB, Electrawinds NV said that it is willing to slash the price of electricity from around 8 Euro cents per kWh to between 4 and 6 Euro cents per kWh if it obtains carbon credits as a result of green energy. The government of Namibia says that it is developing a system for carbon credits and Electrawinds NV said that the provisional price of electricity, pending carbon credits, will be between 4 and 6 Euro cents mark.

Carbon credits are a tradable permit scheme. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions by giving them monetary value. A credit gives the owner the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide. Carbon credits are generated as a result of an additional carbon project, energy experts say. Electrawinds said that it would be using gearless wind turbines imported from Enercon Gmbh in Germany.

"Enercon's superiority in the field of wind turbine production has long been recognised and as a corollary, come at a much steeper price than any other turbines on the market," Electrawinds said.

Electrawinds said it is guided by the need to promote renewable energy, to produce, sell and distribute renewable energy and to research and develop new applications in the renewable energy sector.

Electricity starved Namibia has opened up its energy-generating sector to private investors. Apart from Electrawinds NV, the ECB is also reviewing applications from Binvis Investment, which has expressed interest in setting up a 350 MW coal fired power station in Walvis Bay.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy early this year awarded its first license to a privately owned company, Aeolus Power Generation Namibia to generate wind energy. Aeolus Power Generation, a 50-50 joint venture between Aeolus Association, a Dutch firm and Namibian firm, United Africa Group said it is rolling out a US$160 million wind electricity generation project.

The firm is setting up wind turbines in Oranjemund and Luderitz and has a planned generation of 300 MW yearly starting in October 2008. Namibia, a net importer of electricity, only generates 300 MW. Namibia currently has a coal fired power station, Van Eck, which officials say is too expensive to run, a small hydro-power, Ruacana, in the north border with Angola-which only operates at a third of its capacity because of a short rainfall cycle in Namibia's semi-arid conditions. Rapid economic growth, averaging 4 percent annually, a booming mining sector has resulted in growing power demand for Namibia.