AU urges Namibia to become region’s green energy hub

Namibia has been encouraged by the African Union (AU) to strengthen its renewable energy sector and position itself as a regional leader in green energy development.

By building its niche, Namibia can be assessed on how it would best assist the southern African region and the world at large, AU commissioner for infrastructure and energy Lerato Mataboge says.

She says the fact that Namibia imports more than 60% of its electricity should not be a problem if the country has a stable grid and stable and affordable electricity supply.

“You don’t necessarily have to generate your own. Namibia leads in the energy space when it comes to green hydrogen, for example. That’s a whole other speciality Namibia offers us.

“So, in the renewable space, you can then build a particular niche to help the region and the world to transition,” she says.

Matoboge’s sentiments follow the recent Third Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development in Luanda, Angola.

The summit was co-hosted by the AU Commission and the African Union Development Agency (Auda-Nepad) under the theme ‘Capital, Corridors, Trade: Investing in Infrastructure for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Shared Prosperity’.

The commissioner says if all of the region wanted to have hydroelectric stations or coal-generating stations, countries would just compete among each other.

Matoboge says the reason for power pools and interconnection is that countries want to be able to buy energy from Zambia, for example, with access to other industrial capabilities in the region for cross-pollination with each other.

“So, we’re not saying Namibia shouldn’t generate its own power, we’re saying you should have many other strengths the region requires.

“And we are working with Namibia as a lead in the green hydrogen space and supporting the country and the partnerships it has with Germany and other partners.

This is to get to the next level of critical minerals and renewables, and the generation of batteries as well.

“There’s a whole value chain we’re looking at for Namibia so that the whole region and continent would need you as a sovereign, with the European Union fully behind you,” she says.

The summit closed with investors having committed US$18 billion (about N$311 billion) to developing African infrastructure.

The three-day conference drew 2 000 African heads of state, investors and development partners to Luanda.

The AfCFTA is a trade agreement that aims to create a single, integrated continental market for goods and services across a combined African market of 1.4 billion people.

The US$18 billion will be allocated to 38 bankable projects and 11 projects under the AU’s blueprint for regional and continental infrastructure integration, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (Pida).

Auda-Nepad chief executive Nardos Bekele-Thomas at the event said: “This summit has corrected a longstanding imbalance.

For too long Africa’s immense financial power, our savings, our sovereign wealth, our institutional capital, has been passive in the story of our own development.

“That chapter, hopefully, is being closed now.”

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.