Omburu for carbon-free electricity

The Omburu photovoltaic (PV) plant is set to replace over 5,537 tons of carbon dioxide per year by generating 11,075 MW hours of clean, reliable, responsible electricity per year that will feed into NamPower’s national grid for the next 25 years.
This was revealed at the groundbreaking ceremony held last week, for the first and largest utility-scale ground mounted photovoltaic (PV) system situated in Omburu, near Omaruru in the Erongo Region.InnoSun Energy Holdings, a renewable energy development company and owners of Omburu Sun Energy, a local Independent Power Producer (IPP), held the ceremony which was attended by significant figures in the energy sector and other stakeholders who made the establishment of the Omburu solar power plant become a reality.

The construction of the solar project started in August and is set to be ready by 2015. The state-of-the-art Omburu plant, estimated to cost in excess of N$135 million is being built to meet growing nationwide demand for energy thus this project is also intended democratize responsible energy generation. Planned for completion late in December, the new facility is being constructed on a site where only local staff will be employed to operate and maintain the 4.5MW plant for up to 25 years.
InnoSun has selected copper, indium, gallium, selenium (CIGS) thin-film panels for the electricity generation at Omburu, which will be mounted to a horizontal tracking system which optimizes the angle of the panels in relationship to the position of the sun at any given time during the day. This method of mounting enables each PV panel to increase its energy output by as much as 25% compared to conventional fixed-tilt systems.
Chief Executive Officer of InnoSun Energy Holdings, Grégoire Verhaeghe, said, “The renewable energy power plant will supply over 1% of Namibia’s total domestic power generation. It will also supply carbon free electricity once it has been officially handed over to the national power supplier, NamPower, in early 2015.”
The 4.5MW Omburu PV plant will replace over 8,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
“Today’s occasion is therefore also testimony to the government’s commitment to ensure that Namibia reaches its objectives as set out in the National Development Goals (NDP),” said Usuta Imbili, InnoSun Energy Holdings project manager.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Isak Katali said, “This historic solar project will improve the supply of electricity to the [whole] country and not only to the Erongo Region. It represents an important milestone in the development of energy infrastructure.”