Pilot wind power plant in Namibia transferred to local authority

An informal settlement on the outskirts of Lüderitz now receives wind power following the transfer of a demonstration plat with three wind turbines that together have a rated capacity of just over 10 kW.

The pilot plant is a project of the University of Namibia, first started in 2012 and operated by the university’s Science and Technology division. It was initially sponsored by the Government of Finland. It now provides power to the Benguela informal settlement.

The wind power plant has been delivered to site and installed with the technical backing of Kestrel Eveready of South Africa who tested the installed system and verified that all components are functioning as per technical specification.

The university said the demonstration plant provided the baseline information on the structure of investment as well as implementation capacities required in the process of establishing more renewable energy sources throughout the country. The experience learnt from this demonstration will be used to replicate the erection of similar wind energy sources nation-wide.

The Mayor of Lüderitz, Her Worship Hilaria Mukapuli remarked that wind turbine is one of the most environmentally friendly ways of producing affordable electricity and that Lüderitz is very fortunate to be one of the towns in Namibia were the wind blows throughout the year. “There are substantial challenges to be met, but all appear solvable. I therefore comment the effort of the University of Namibia in conjunction with our Lüderitz community for having engaged in a successful research which translated in the construction and completion of this project,” she said.

The UNAM Vice Chancellor, Prof Lazarus Hangula said “Energy continues to be on the priority list of Namibia’s national development agenda; and both as an institution of higher learning on the one hand and as academics, it is our responsibility to become the harbingers in ensuring achievements of the NDP’s objectives on the other hand.”

He reiterated the university’s commitment to keep advancing the project through continued research, involving the local authority and various stakeholders to ensure that the Lüderitz wind turbine project is replicated to other parts of Namibia.