Namibia signs for its first grid-scale battery storage project

Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) has recently signed key EPC contracts with Shandong Electrical, Engineering & Equipment Group (SDEE) and Narada Power for the first-ever grid-scale battery energy storage project in the Southern African country. 

The JV between the two Chinese companies will deliver the 54MW/ 54MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Omburu substation in in Namibia's Erongo region. The project aims to address the demand for power shortages, reduce the impact of unstable photovoltaic power generation on the power grid, and improve the quality of electricity used by residents in the region. 

Further, the Omburu project envisions a profit model of energy storage, in sync with the global low-carbon energy and environmental protection goals, the partners claim. The BESS will feature Narada's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. 

Kahenge Haulofu, Managing Director of NamPower, has commented that the project will reshape the way the country generate, distribute and consume electricity, bringing huge economic benefits to consumers. It will also play a positive role in emergency energy management and reducing CO2 emission, he added. 

Once operationalized, the battery storage project will ensure stable operation of the local power grid and improve the efficiency of Namibia's energy trading in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), while also reducing the dependence on emergency imports to the grid of the South African National Power Corporation (SANPC).

Media reports suggest that the Omburu BESS project has bagged a €20 million grant from German national development bank KfW, covering about 80 percent of the project cost, with the rest financed by NamPower.

Namibia is highly dependent on electricity imports from its neighboring nations at present. The country is targeting a 80 percent supply from local sources by the end of this decade, with a 70 percent renewable energy mix by 2030.

With comprehensive technical capabilities for grid-scale energy storage projects, Narada Power claims to have won and signed a total of more than 7.5 GWh of battery energy storage projects in global markets.