Says It Will Continue Exporting Electricity to Namibia
Staff Reporter
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, today signed an agreement with the Minister of Electricity from South Africa, Kgosienstsho Ramokgopa. This agreement will explore how South Africa can benefit from Namibia’s Kudu Gas-to-Power project, as well as how the two countries can collaborate on their Green Hydrogen strategies to avoid competition.
During the meeting, Ramokgopa assured Namibia that South Africa will maintain its supply of electricity to Namibia, despite the ongoing load shedding situation in South Africa. The country currently exports approximately 100 MW to Namibia.
“We have several collaborations with South Africa, and energy is one of the key areas of cooperation. This visit is especially important due to the energy deficit we are facing, not only in South Africa but also in the SADC Region. We share distribution infrastructure with South Africa,” Alweendo stated during the meeting.
He further mentioned that he held discussions with his South African counterpart on how South Africa can participate in the Kudu Gas-to-Power project and how both countries can mutually benefit from its development. Alweendo also highlighted the discussions around the Green Hydrogen strategies of the two countries and the potential for collaboration in this area. He emphasized that this collaboration would consider the sharing of infrastructure between Namibia and South Africa, as well as attracting investors to the sector, including the possibility of exporting green hydrogen energy to South Africa.
Ramokgopa, speaking at the meeting as well, emphasized the symbiotic relationship between Namibia and South Africa. “Our primary goal is to address the energy deficit in the country. We have made significant progress, and the severity of load shedding has started to decrease due to improvements in our electricity generation and unit performance. We are looking forward to expanding renewable energy generation capacity. The Kudu gas field presents one of these opportunities,” Ramokgopa stated.
Ramokgopa continued by mentioning the intention to collaborate on green hydrogen strategies. Adding to these sentiments, Namibian Mines Minister Tom Alweendo noted that the Gas-to-Power Model will assess how countries in the SADC region with gas resources can collaboratively ensure energy security through resource sharing.
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