N$1.9bn Diaz Wind Farm opens near Lüderitz

Namibians expect electricity prices to fall as more wind and solar energy projects come online, the governor of the ǁKharas Region, Dawid Gertze, said at the inauguration of the N$1.9 billion InnoVent Diaz Wind Farm south of Lüderitz on Friday.“Our people want to see energy prices coming down with these new developments. My people want to experience improved living standards as we move forward,” Gertze said. Located in the Tsau//Khaeb National Park, the 50 MW facility comprises 11 wind turbines and is expected to strengthen Namibia's energy security, support industrial development and reduce reliance on electricity imports.Gertze said the project could help reduce costly electricity imports and move Namibia closer to its target of 1 153 MW of national generation capacity.“We are harnessing the power of wind in the ǁKharas region to accelerate Namibia's industrial future,” he added.Gregoire Verhaeghe, honorary consul of Namibia in Lille, France, and chairman of InnoVent, said: “Wind energy offers a considerably cheaper alternative to petrol-powered generation.”He noted that the price of a litre of petrol is currently N$27.“A car will get approximately three kilowatt-hours of power from burning one litre of petrol. This means we get one kilowatt-hour of energy at a cost of N$9 per litre of petrol.”He said the power purchase agreement between InnoVent and NamPower ensures that electricity generated by Diaz is sold at less than N$1.The Diaz Wind Farm is expected to supply about 6% of Namibia's total electricity consumption, Verhaeghe said.Each turbine at the facility has a capacity of about 6 MW.Electricity could also be traded across national borders through the Southern African Power Pool.“There is a lot of space and wind, and this process can be replicated quite easily. It is up to the government to scale up development,” Verhaeghe said.Safe and reliable supplyActing chairperson of the Electricity Control Board (ECB) Dr Tjama Tjivikua urged developers to continue investing in local employment, skills transfer and enterprise development throughout the wind farm's 25-year lifespan.“Consumers want a reliable energy source supplied at a fair price. A nation that powers itself shapes its own future and can industrialise faster,” Tjivikua said.“It is a controversial topic at this point, but we cannot restrain the market because we think one way,” he said.He added that the ECB's modified single buyer market model created opportunities for independent power producers and qualifying customers to trade electricity directly. “Through our net-metering and distributed-generation rules, households and businesses can now generate their own electricity and even feed surplus power into the grid,” he said.Tjivikua said the ECB's grid code and licensing framework continue to evolve to ensure that new power plants are connected to the national system safely and reliably.“Policies on paper do not light homes or fuel cars. My charge to the management of the ECB and our board is that every policy we adopt must come with an implementation strategy, and our strategies must serve one overriding goal: expanding Namibia's own energy supply,” he said.Martin Inkumbi, chief executive officer of the Government Institutions Pension Fund (Gipf), said Diaz is expected to become Namibia's largest wind farm, supplying more than 220 000 MWh of clean electricity annually to the national grid.“The project will help Namibia move closer to electricity self-sufficiency,” he said.Gipf's investment assessment had identified renewable energy and greater energy independence as important reasons for supporting the project, he added.“Every additional megawatt generated domestically strengthens our energy security and increases the productive capacity of our economy. Reliable energy supports mines, businesses, industries, hospitals, households and future investment,” he said.The project had created between 100 and 150 jobs during construction, with between 10 and 20 permanent operational positions expected. It had also supported skills transfer and local economic activity.

N$1.9bn Diaz Wind Farm opens near Lüderitz

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-27

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N$1.9bn Diaz Wind Farm opens near Lüderitz

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-27

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