The 10 MW Maxwell solar plant, which represents a “ground-breaking step” in Namibia’s transition to renewable energy and “serves as a model for future public- private power partnerships”, has been commissioned, says solar asset management company Sustainable Power Solutions (SPS).

The company, in partnership with gold mining company B2Gold Namibia, Maxwell farm owner, the Oelofse family, and local property developer Fortitude, has successfully commissioned Namibia’s first solar wheeling project under electric power utility NamPower’s modified single buyer (MSB) programme.

NamPower’s MSB programme allows independent power producers (IPPs) to sell electricity directly to large customers using the national grid. This supports energy security, independent power generation and demonstrates the potential of wheeling in driving the country’s transition to clean renewable energy.

The Maxwell solar plant will deliver, renewable energy to B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine, which is situated 20 km away.

“The Maxwell solar plant is a big step forward in opening up access to Namibia’s grid,” says SPS director and co-founder Francois van Themaat. He adds it proves that wheeling under the MSB programme works and shows how private producers and corporate offtakers can collaborate with NamPower to accelerate renewable-energy deployment.

Van Themaat says the project reflects the combined efforts of multiple stakeholders.

B2Gold, Namibia’s largest gold producer, has steadily increased its use of renewable energy since 2015, when it relied entirely on heavy fuel oil.

Its 7 MW on-site solar plant, commissioned in 2018, previously supplied 13% of the mine’s power needs.

With the addition of the Maxwell plant, renewable energy will now supply a meaningful portion of the Otjikoto mine’s power needs.

“B2Gold’s ambition is to be Namibia’s leader in renewables-powered mining, while supporting our global target to reduce greenhouse- gas emissions by 30% by 2030,” says B2Gold Namibia country manager John Roos.

He explains that partnering with SPS under the MSB framework gives B2Gold a cost- effective, low-carbon energy supply and demonstrates what is possible for the sector.

The project was initiated before the MSB framework was finalised, requiring close collaboration with NamPower and the Electricity Control Board to shape a workable model.

Van Themaat stresses that SPS took on a unique risk with a shorter power purchase agreement (PPA) of eight years, aligned with the Otjikoto mine’s approved life-of-mine.

“It was ambitious, but we believe in Namibia’s renewable future,” he says, while lauding the engineering, finance, legal, and asset management teams, as well as the project shareholders, all of whom “pulled together” over four years to aid the realisation of this project.