Africa’s first “green hydrogen” power station anticipated to start generating electricity in 2024
By Freeman ya Ngulu.
According to a representative of France-based HDF Energy, the first “green hydrogen” power plant being built in Africa is anticipated to start generating electricity in Namibia in 2024.
This poses a challenge for Namibia, which is a proponent of sustainable energy but also recently announced the discovery of enormous oil reserves off its coast following numerous unsuccessful drilling operations.
Namibia should abandon oil exploration and concentrate instead on green hydrogen, a much-touted future energy source, according to Herbert Jauch, the chairman of a local nonprofit organization called the Economic and Social Justice Trust.
In less than two years, a facility will start producing green hydrogen, a renewable energy source with potential use in industry and electric automobiles.
The electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen, is powered by renewable energy sources like the sun and wind, both of which Namibia has an abundance of.
However, at the same time, oil companies Shell and Total recently discovered oil deposits, estimated to hold more than 1 billion barrels, about 290 kilometers off the Namibian coast.
Prior to Namibia becoming an oil-producing country, Maggy Shino, the petrol commissioner at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, issued a warning.
“We must recognize that, as explorers, we still have a very long way to go before we can change the narrative to reflect that we are an oil-producing country “said Shine. “We are oil finders and have oil deposits, but we do not yet produce any oil. There is still a lot of work to be done before we can reach that point.”
Even if Namibia started producing oil, Tom Alweendo, the Minister of Mines and Energy, warned that it would face competition from other African nations and urged residents not to expect a sudden financial windfall from oil revenue.
“We just came from an oil and gas conference in Senegal,” he said. “Senegal has discovered a lot of oil; so has Ghana; Uganda has oil, although they have not produced yet. So has Equatorial Guinea, so has Angola, so has Nigeria.”
