The Otjikoto Biomass Power Station:
The Otjikoto Biomass Power Station under development by NamPower is to be a 40 MWe biomass-fired thermal power station which is to provide much needed locally-generated electrical power for Namibia.
NamPower has developed this project with loan funding from the French Development Agency (AfD) , grants from the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF) and the French Fund for Global Environment (FFEM) and funding from the Namibian Government.
NamPower appointed Fichtner Consulting Engineers as owner’s engineers to assist in providing technical advisory services for the development and execution of the project. LCE serves as one of Fichtner’s local sub-consultants and assisted with providing Namibian and appropriate local specifications for various aspects of the project, assisted with the evaluation of the tender bids received, and will assist with construction supervision and quality control services during the construction of the plant.
The design, construction and initial operation of the plant will be implemented under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contract, which following an open tender procedure, was awarded to Dongfang Electric International Corporation.
The power station will use encroacher bush as fuel source, which by helping alleviate bush encroachment, will benefit the Namibian agricultural sector by contributing to enhanced (ground) water availability, improved land productivity, enhanced resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities through the rehabilitation of bush encroached land. NamPower aims to promote a sustainable harvesting industry, and the project will inject significant funds into the Oshikoto Region and local communities via the procurement of woodchips from local farmers and contractors.
Biomass wood chips from encroacher bush will be used as fuel in the combustion process in the two 20 MWe boilers to produce steam which will be fed to a single steam turbine and electrical generator to produce baseload power.
The project site is some 12 km north of Tsumeb in the Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia. The ±44 ha site is owned by NamPower and is close their Otjikoto Substation for easy connection to the electrical gird.
NamPower estimates that 400 000 ha will be harvested during the project’s estimated 25-year lifetime, and will off-set approximately 0.308 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equating to a total mitigation of 7.71 million tonnes of CO2 over these 25 years. As a low-carbon energy project, this project will also contribute to Namibia achieving its international commitments under its Nationally Determined Contribution, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and Third Programme under the United Nations Convention on Combatting Desertification.
Following contract award , the groundbreaking ceremony took place on Friday 15 November 2024, and was attended by the French ambassador to Namibia , as reported by the New Era , the Informanté , the Namibia Economist and Construct Africa.
The project duration is expected to be approximately 30 months, with completion scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Location: Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region of north Namibia
Project Value: N$ 2.64 billion (estimated)
Commencement: 2023
Further information on this project can be obtained from NamPower, including from the Project Fact Sheet.
