Making headway in the Namibian energy sector, renewable-energy solutions provider Sustainable Power Solutions’ (SPS’s) latest project – the 10 MW Maxwell solar power plant – is a wheeling project that could signal the evolution of Namibia’s energy transition.  

The Maxwell plant, which was successfully commissioned in May 2025, will be providing clean solar power to gold producer B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine until 2031 and will produce about 26 GW/h – or 26 000 MW/h – of solar power a year.

SPS co-founder Francois Van Themaat says that the Maxwell solar power plant is the first true wheeling plant under Namibian power utility company NamPower’s Modified Single Buyer (MSB) programme, which will feed clean, renewable energy into the NamPower grid at the Eldorado substation, from where the electricity is wheeled to B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine.

While the Maxwell plant will help to both reduce B2Gold’s Otjikoto operation’s energy costs as well as its carbon footprint, Van Themaat highlights that it also demonstrates the feasibility of wheeling in Namibia, adding that widespread adoption could enhance the renewable-energy transition.

“Namibia is blessed with some of the best solar resource in the world. Solar plants can be built away from urban areas where the land is available at a low cost and features optimal solar irradiance, and that power can be wheeled to anywhere within Namibia that has a grid connection and even beyond into the Southern African Power Pool,” he avers.

This allows Namibia to reduce its energy reliance on its neighbouring countries, and, over time, facilitates its becoming solely reliant on its own energy production, with a large portion produced by low-cost renewable-energy sources, owing to its abundance of both solar and wind energy resources.

He adds that the MSB framework is “primarily aimed at developing larger scale solar plants that can provide power to the entire grid, which means it will play a huge role in bringing down overall energy costs”.

He warns, however, that similar to the experience in European and other countries which are transitioning to renewable energy , the influx of intermittent energy from renewable energy plants could result in connection- and energy flow-related challenges for the Namibian grid.

However, he points out that Nampower is being “proactive” in tackling these challenges and is conducting grid upgrades and adopting new technologies to help smoothen the country’s renewable-energy transition.

Van Themaat also notes that the country will address the challenges of intermittent energy supply by investing in battery energy storage systems, so that solar- and wind-derived power can be accessed on demand.

Additionally, wheeling can help to offset the cost of renewable-energy generation, as it can help to create an accessible and lucrative market for reselling stored solar or wind energy.

“Even some of the regional energy distributors have got various internal feed-in and wheeling frameworks under development . . . the regional distributors and large municipalities have got proposals that are being worked on to open and free up the market.

“I think where we need to get to, is where it becomes an open and competitive market for energy in which entities with excess energy can sell it back to the grid. . . and Namibia, given its abundant solar and wind resources, should be able to become a net exporter of energy.”

He adds that the “seeds have been planted” for a future of a just energy transition whereby renewable resources will be more accessible, with the Maxwell plant being a testament of this vision.

Van Themaat expressed his thanks to all the partners and stakeholders that made the Maxwell project a reality. He specifically highlighted the foresight of B2Gold’s management to transition their mining operations to renewable energy, the Oelofse family who made the land available for the project and Fortitude Property Group, who provided key project management services.

“I would also like to thank our shareholders for allowing us to push the boundaries once again with this first of its kind project, and the entire SPS team who really stepped up and put in long hours to make this project a huge success,” he concludes.