Namibia is at a crucial point in the development of its energy system – the country must soon make critical decisions to meet its growing energy demand. In particular, it must decide whether to prioritize the development of large-scale hydropower, namely the Baynes dam, or to develop abundant solar and wind resources.
Private investment in wind and solar could help Namibia to move away from dependence on unreliable hydropower and expensive imports. Indeed, our analysis suggests this is the cheapest and best technological pathway for Namibia and should thus be prioritized by energy planners.
By contrast, Namibia's 20MW Omburu PV project87 and its flagship 37MW Hardap PV project88 required 2.1 – 2.7ha / MW, respectively. The 80MW Kouga wind farm in South Africa is located on a farm of 2,948ha, but the actual footprint of the wind farm translates to just 0.35ha / MW.89
Emissions factors were collected from the IPCC Emission Factor Database113, which provides carbon emissions factors by fuel. Final electricity demand in Namibia was assumed to be 3,945 GWh in 2020 and 3,925 GWh in 2021 based on Nampower reported electricity demand.114 It is then projected to reach 4,989 GWh by 2030 and 6,511 GWh by 2040.
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