Otjozondjupa Solar Park goes live
The country’s largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) plant went into operation this week, as local market leader HopSol Namibia finalised its Otjozonjupa Solar Park.
The first completed project out of a total 14 approved within national energy utility Nampower’s Renewable Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) Programme, the plant was constructed over a three month period, using labour from 40 local community members.
Located just outside Grootfontein, the solar plant is expected to supply close to 14 000 MegaWatt-hours (MWh) of electricity per year to Nampower, enough to power 3 700 households on average, or 1% of the national population.
“We needed a reliable module technology that would thrive in Namibia’s hot temperatures that are common in the summer months and at the same time also be able to deliver energy in cloudy, low-light conditions” HopSol Director Dr Robert Hopperdietzel, said of the plant, and the decision for choosing thin film module technology from US company First Solar, and Germany’s IdeemaTec.
The 5 MW solar power plant was built with 52 000 thin-film solar modules, fixed on a single-axis tracking system to maximise energy yields.
“In fact, by our long years of solar experience, the modules will deliver more energy in Namibia than conventional polycrystalline PV panels would have”, Hopperdietzel said.
The plant commenced operation on Tuesday.
According to HopSol, the Otjozondjupa Solar Park would generate electricity with a minimum usage of water, a comparable reduction in carbon footprint, and the quickest energy payback time in the industry to date.
DENVER ISAACS
The first completed project out of a total 14 approved within national energy utility Nampower’s Renewable Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) Programme, the plant was constructed over a three month period, using labour from 40 local community members.
Located just outside Grootfontein, the solar plant is expected to supply close to 14 000 MegaWatt-hours (MWh) of electricity per year to Nampower, enough to power 3 700 households on average, or 1% of the national population.
“We needed a reliable module technology that would thrive in Namibia’s hot temperatures that are common in the summer months and at the same time also be able to deliver energy in cloudy, low-light conditions” HopSol Director Dr Robert Hopperdietzel, said of the plant, and the decision for choosing thin film module technology from US company First Solar, and Germany’s IdeemaTec.
The 5 MW solar power plant was built with 52 000 thin-film solar modules, fixed on a single-axis tracking system to maximise energy yields.
“In fact, by our long years of solar experience, the modules will deliver more energy in Namibia than conventional polycrystalline PV panels would have”, Hopperdietzel said.
The plant commenced operation on Tuesday.
According to HopSol, the Otjozondjupa Solar Park would generate electricity with a minimum usage of water, a comparable reduction in carbon footprint, and the quickest energy payback time in the industry to date.
DENVER ISAACS
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