Namibia studies biomass power generation

• 10 years ago (2013-06-15)
• David Flin

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Namibia’s state power utility NamPower said that results of a pre-feasibility study on the use of biomass for power generation in the country are promising, and it has given the go-ahead to continue with a full-scale feasibility study, while also investigating the feasibility of a hybrid biomass-concentrated solar power plant.

Robert Schultz from the Desert Research Foundation, which runs a 250kW biomass plant near Outjo, said that the two-year study demonstrated that there is capacity to operate up to 240 decentralised biomass plants across Namibia. He said: “Standing biomass resources are estimated at over 260 million tonnes. Van Eck probably needs about 100,000 tonnes of biomass fuel a year if running for three months per year, and if you divide the available resources, it gives you about 2600 years of available fuel. This is a very rudimentary estimate, but it does serve to put the available resources into perspective.”

Schultz said the advantages of having biomass power plants is that it creates a form of energy development outside major towns which, in turn, creates economic opportunities in other areas. He said: “Reducing bush encroachment improves agricultural production Coupled with decentralised power generation, you actually create more employment opportunities. Biomass power plants are important, as only 30 per cent of the population has access to electricity. For some biomass technologies, you can easily consider off-grid power supply. For example, the EU-funded Tsumkwe Energy project is a 200kW solar/diesel off-grid power plant. In this case, the diesel generator can easily be substituted by biomass energy technology.”