Namibia to start building Africa’s first solar-hydrogen power plant in 2023: official

WINDHOEK, Nov. 9  — The construction of Africa’s first solar-green hydrogen power plant in Namibia will begin in the first quarter of 2023, according to a senior regional government official.
HDF Energy, the French independent power producer, is building a 3-billion-Namibian-dollar (about 170 million U.S. dollars) hydrogen-to-power plant near the beach resort of Swakopmund.
Wilfried Groenewald, the leader of the Swakopmund council, said on Tuesday that HDF Energy has already secured land measuring 400 hectares east of the town famed for its clean beaches and German colonial architecture.
According to Groenewald, the Namibian government has already given the French company its blessings to go ahead with the project.
The project will supply clean electricity power 24 hours a day, all year round, boosting supply in the southwestern African nation that relies on imports from neighbouring South Africa.
It will see about 90 MW of solar panels powering electrolyzers to produce hydrogen that can be stored.
Namibia is one of the world’s sunniest and least densely populated countries. The country wants to harness its vast potential for solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen and position itself as a renewable energy hub in Africa.  (Xinhua)