NAMIBIA | Hardap PV Plant | 45.45 MW | Commissioned

In 2016, Alten Energías Renovables made the winning bid in the tender put out by NamPower, the country’s state electricity provider, for the development, construction and financing of a 45.45 MW PV plant in Hardap, in the south of the country, located 230 km from the capital, Windhoek.

The project has been structured as a PPP | Private Public Partnership, such that, together with Alten Energías Renovables and its local Namibian partners, NamPower is also one of the shareholders, taking 19% of the stock. This is the first PPP in Namibia.

The photovoltaic plant was commissioned at the end of 2018, reaching record times in terms of the speed of completing both financing and construction. After Ruacana and Van Eck, Alten Hardap PV Plant is the third largest electricity plant in the country.

Standard Bank and Proparco handled the financing for the project. It was one of the country’s first project finance deals and also one of the first projects to combine the heft of a retail bank the size of  Standard Bank  with development banking, in which the various risks involved in the project are shared according to Basel 3 framework guidelines.

Construction was led by Sterling and Wilson, one of the world’s largest PV constructors, with a completion date of under 7 months, including connecting infrastructure such as the link to the 66kV Hardap substation.

This facility generates around 121,000 MWh/year of clean energy and has a surface area of around 100 Has.

Technical Characteristics:

• Peak power: 45,4545 MWp
• Country: Namibia
• Municipality (Province): Hardap
• Technology: 1 axis solar trackers, Soltec 2 Vertical x 45 modules per tracker
• Modules: Chint 325 Wp
• Inverter: Gamesa Electric 2.5 MVA (50ºC), Power Blocks 2 indoor inverters
• MV transformers: 9×5 MVA (50ºC), 33 kV / 660 V / 660 V
• Distribution company: NamPower
• Start of operation: September 2018
• Other data: HV transformer: 42 MVA ONAN, 33/66 kV YNd11