The French Independent Power Producer Energy (FIPPE), expects its first Africa green hydrogen power plant in Namibia, to start producing electricity by 2024.
Namibia currently imports more than a third of its power from its neighboring country, South Africa.
The energy director for High-Density Fiberboard (HDF), Southern Africa, Nicolas Lecomte said that, “Yearly we can produce 142-gigawatt, enough for 142,000 inhabitants, and that is conservative.”
Once operational, the 3.1 billion Namibian dollars ($181.25m) Swakopmund project will supply clean electricity power, 24 hours a day all year round, boosting electricity supply in the Southern African nation, Aljazeera reports.
As one of the world’s sunniest and least densely populated countries, it wants to harness its vast potential for solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen and position the country as a renewable energy hub in Africa.
Hydrogen is categorised green when it is made with renewable power and is seen as key to help decarbonise the industry, though the technology remains immature and relatively costly.
The project will see 85 Megawatts (MW) of solar panels powering electrolysers to produce hydrogen that can be stored.
High Density Fiberboard (HDF) Energy is also eyeing new projects across Africa and other parts of the world.
“Soon after Southern Africa, you will see High Density Fiberboard (HDF) developing projects in East Africa,” Lecomte said.
The European Union (EU) also plans a deal with Namibia to support the country’s nascent green hydrogen sector and boost its own imports of the fuel, as the bloc works to reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources.
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