Page 8 - AfrElec Week 34
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AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec
Botswana, Namibia target 5,000MW of solar
BOTSWANA
BOTSWANA and Namibia have launched a procurement programme for up to 5,000MW of utility-scale solar projects with the support of a group of Western development nance institu- tions (DFIs) led by the US government’s Power Africa.
e programme aims to develop public-pri- vate partnerships to raise investment, a model that has been used in South Africa and Zambia but has yet to be seen elsewhere in southern Africa.
e two countries o er many advantages for large-scale solar, said Andrew Herscowitz, co-or- dinator of Power Africa.
Botswana and Namibia have some of the highest solar irradiance potential of any African country and can o er 10 hours per day of strong sunlight for 300 days per year.
is can be used by both concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) installations. The proposed procurement process will involve competitive tendering for an initial 300- 500 MW, which will meet domestic demand in
the two countries.
e second will be for 500-1,000 MW to be
sold across southern Africa, and will accompany the completion of new regional transmission interconnectors.
South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia are key target markets for Namibia and Botswana’s solar power.
By the 2030s, the third stage, amounting to
another 1,000-3,000 MW, would be traded across the continent, especially Central and East Africa, through the emerging regional power pools.
e deal builds on the US-Africa Business Summit in June, when Namibian President Hage Geingob, Botswana International A airs Minis- ter Unity Dow and Power Africa’s Herscowitz met World Bank representatives to discuss the programme.
Southern Africa offers up to 24,000 MW of unmet power demand by 2040, Herscowitz forecast.
He also highlighted that as battery storage technology advances and costs of solar storage drop below $0.10 per kWh, solar has become cost-competitive with other fuel sources in the region, principally coal and wind.
e two countries also o er strong legal and regulatory environments, access to readily avail- able foreign currency and, in Namibia’s case, cost-re ective electricity tari s, both key attrac- tions for private investors.
The two countries’ governments are to launch the tenders with support from the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy. This body includes the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Inter- national Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Power Africa.
POLICY
Nigeria faces legal action over local content
NIGERIA
NIGERIA’Scampaigntoincreasetheuseoflocal content in oil and gas projects is su ering set- backs, as the Lagos Deep O shore Logistics Base (LADOL) is embroiled in legal battles with two key partners.
LADOL Free Zone and its management com- pany Global Resources Management Free Zone Co. (GRMFZC) are currently ghting in court with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), a division of the South Korean conglomerate, and Africoat, a pipe-coating company owned by US investors.
Both companies have set up facilities within the free zone that are standing virtually idle, and their inactivity could prevent the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) from reaching its goal of hiking local content provision to 70%, up from the current level of 28%, by 2027.
SHI led suit earlier this year a er LADOL cancelled its licence to operate within the free zone. is decision put the future of SHIMCI,
the Korean company’s joint venture with Mega-Construction and Integration FZE (MCI), LADOL’s authorised shipyard operator, in jeopardy.
SHI has challenged the cancellation. In its initial court ling, it said it had worked closely with NCDMB to ensure full compliance with local content requirements in the fabrication of topsides for a oating production, storage and o -loading (FPSO) unit for Total’s Egina o - shore eld. e case is now being heard in the Lagos State High Court.
Africoat, meanwhile, is seeking to regain access to its pipe-coating facility within the free zone. e company has claimed in its suit that LADOL and GRMFZC are preventing its man- agement and sta from entering the site, thereby forcing a suspension of operations. It has said it is ready and able to bring its facility back online within just a few weeks, provided that its employ- ees are not barred from entering the area.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 34 28•August•2019
