Page 10 - AfrElec Week 03 2022

AfrElec HYDROGEN AfrElec

Namibia investigates legal

framework to regulate fledgling

green hydrogen industry

NAMIBIA AS green hydrogen takes the country by storm, knowledge of the industry. “But there are spe-
the Namibian government is eager to establish cialities around it… there are important lessons
a legal framework that will regulate its green from it [the existing acts].”
hydrogen project. Kandjoze says green hydrogen is an energy
This is especially critical for environmental form with technical aspects which need to be
management, as its main project will be operat- part of the law.
ing from Namibia’s Tsau Khaeb National Park, “The implications of this may present the
the country’s National Planning Commission need for it to be legislated differently,” he said.
director-general, Obeth Kandjoze, said in a The presidential economic adviser and
statement. hydrogen commissioner, James Mnyupe, agreed
“A new legal framework that will govern the the green hydrogen project will require the aug-
new industry, green hydrogen,” Kandjoze told mentation of some pieces of legislation.
one of Namibia’s main newspapers The Namib- “Our petroleum commissioner is already
ian in an interview. He said the current Petro- hard at work considering those envisioned
leum Products and Energy Amendment Act, as changes. The project relies on other existing
well as the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) pieces of legislation, such as the Nature Conser-
Act, does not suffice to govern green hydrogen. vation Act,” Mnyupe said.
According to the Namibian Presidency The green hydrogen project will be set up in
Office, this green hydrogen project aims to gen- a small area zoned for exploration in the Tsau
erate 5 GW of renewable energy, while it would Khaeb National Park, a coastal diamond-mining
ultimately produce 300,000 tonnes per year area in the Namib Desert with abundant wind
(tpy) of green hydrogen for regional and global and solar resources.
markets. “This park is the very basis for our future
The Namibia government has appointed emerging industry. We will look into how we
project-development company Hyphen Hydro- can position what we now know as a very strong
gen Energy as the preferred bidder to develop emerging industry, which is green hydrogen
the first large-scale vertically integrated green ammonia,” Kandjoze said.
hydrogen project in the Tsau Khaeb National Mnyupe said the next step is for his gov-
Park. The company will be subjected to due dili- ernment to enter into final negotiations with
gence, which will also scrutinise its environmen- Hyphen, which will aim to finalise key aspects of
tal practices. the envisioned agreement.
Following the conclusion of a feasibility study “A key update on these negotiations should
and sign-off by the government, Hyphen Hydro- be available at the end of the first quarter of
gen Energy will be granted the right to construct 2022,” he said, adding that on the conclusion of
and operate the project for a 40-year period. The those negotiations, Hyphen should become the
first phase is expected to enter production in selected developer to conduct feasibility studies
2026. to consider the viability of the construction of
Kandjoze explained that much of the regu- the project.™
lation’s principle would revolve around current

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