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Solar Power In Namibia Comes Of Age
Written by Raina Xiao Monday, 22 March 2010 11:33
Solar power in Namibia is going from strength to strength, pushed along by large increases in electricity tariffs and spiralling fuel prices.
But why it has taken this long to get round to implementing solar power in Namibia, a country with 3,300 hours of sunshine per year, is anyone's guess.
Tapping into this abundant natural resource will not just supply homeowners with cheap, clean electricity but it will also create jobs in solar energy technologies.
But up to now, high import costs and tariffs for solar panels have been major obstacles for the implementation of solar power in Namibia.
However, The Ministry of Mines and Energy [MME] has embarked on a five-year renewable energy master plan, which started in 2005. Assisted by the United Nations Development Programme, they are increasing public awareness on the use of solar panels.
The MME runs a programme to remove the barriers that still exist to promote the use of renewable energies.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy stipulated the use of solar water heaters in all government buildings. And the MME now offer loans at low interest rates for families to buy and install solar water heaters in their homes.
This really should stretch to pv solar panels for electricity as well. But seeing as it doesn't, there are still ways to install solar panels yourself without incurring the steep costs that a professional installer would charge you.
Other solar projects
There are plans by private entrepreneurs and farmers to build a huge solar energy plant in southern Namibia, where the highest amount of sun radiation is measured. A mere 64 square kilometres of land covered with solar panels would generatee enough electricity for the whole of Namibia.
And there are ambitious plans to construct a solar tower. It is rumoured that it is going to be built in the Namib Desert, close enough to allow for a pipeline to the Atlantic Ocean. This way, seawater can be extracted and desalinated to allow large-scale agriculture such as crop farming.
According to reports, all these diversified activities would create about 25,000 jobs.
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