Winds of change

The first shipment of wind turbines for Namibia’s inaugural wind power farm called Ombepo Wind Park near Lüderitz arrived at the end of January 2017, putting the project on schedule for completion by mid-2017.The 5-megawatt (MW) Ombepo wind farm, a development by Namibian registered company InnoSun, with Namibian and French shareholders, will initially consist of three gigantic 80-metre-high towers, to which 43-metre-long blades are attached. The Lüderitz Town Council is a 5% shareholder in the wind farm. One 5MW plant can supply approximately 10 000 average households with electricity. Jan-Barend Scheepers, project manager at InnoSun Energy Holdings this week said progress is on schedule with civil works still on-going. “We are very happy with the contractor,” he said and confirmed that the project will be commissioned by mid-2017.“We have had to build several kilometres of access roads up the granite hills to access the intended turbine positions. This also includes large platforms which will be used for component storage before being lifted and assembled into their final positions.”Once the access roads are completed, specialised trucks will be used to transport the gigantic pieces of equipment, including a 70-ton generator that has to be lifted 80 metres high, to assemble the pieces for the wind farm. A 700-ton crane will be required for the operation to install the towers and the turbines. The 80-metre towers will have a spinning diameter of close to 100 metres and will be erected between 5 and 7 km east of the harbour town. InnoSun signed a 5 MW power-purchasing agreement with NamPower, through the Electricity Control Board’s (ECB) ReFIT programme, for 25 years.Scheepers explained that the company continues to work on future energy projects that will boost Namibia’s renewable energy contributions to the national grid.He said that the Ombepo wind farm project has been in development for several years. One of the components of the project has been a two-year study to collect wind data, which will form the basis for potential future projects, including additional wind farms.“The great energy potential lying untapped on the southern coastline of Namibia won’t just be of great benefit to the local economy and society, but to the advantage of national and even the entire southern Africa’s development goals,” he said. Funding for the project was assisted with a loan from the Development Bank of Namibia, with the total investment for the project reportedly close to N$180 million. InnoSun also designed, developed and completed two previous renewable energy projects in Namibia to date.The 5MW Osona solar plant is situated west of Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa Region, and the company also developed and operates that 4.5MW photovoltaic solar power farm Omburu, at the time the first solar power farm in Namibia. Future projects include an 8MW wind farm called #Oab near Elizabeth Bay Mine and a much larger wind farm is being developed known as WindNam. By the end of 2017, InnoSun will have added a total of 26.5MW of local Namibian power generation since opening the first park in 2015. JANA-MARI SMITH

Winds of change

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-03

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Winds of change

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-03

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