CHAMWE KAIRA
NamPower, which recently secured energy infrastructure expansion funding worth N$2.6 billion from the World Bank, expects to implement the project in the period 2025 to 2028.
NamPower said in response to questions by Observer Money that transmission expansion, a component of the Transmission Expansion and Energy Storage (TEES) project, involves constructing a new 400kV transmission line from the Auas Substation outside Windhoek to the Kokerboom Substation outside Keetmanshoop.
“Additionally, substation upgrades at both Auas and Kokerboom will be carried out to interface with the new line. The transmission line and associated works are scheduled to commence in early 2025, with completion expected by 2028,” NamPower said.
The company said the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will support its transmission network in the uptake of renewable energy plants.
Commenting on the importance of the Battery Energy Storage System being connected to the Lithops Substation in the Erongo region, the company said Lithops was chosen as the location for the BESS for two main reasons first being that Lithops is located near a key load centre, which mainly consists of large mines. As such the BESS can reduce inrush currents experienced by transformers when heavy mining equipment is operated. The second reason is that the area surrounding Lithops is expected to be home to upcoming Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plants with significant capacity, NamPower said.
“With this in mind, the BESS can store any excess energy produced by these plants with minimal grid losses,” the company said.
NamPower said with the capability to import and export energy at any given time within a short response time, the 45MW/90MWh BESS configuration can perform the following supply & grid support functions reduction of peak load, provision of reactive power, reduction of renewable energy curtailment, reduction of additional peaking power plant capacity, arbitrage, ramp-rate control at interconnections, provision of emergency energy and provision of spinning reserve.
NamPower is currently developing the Rosh Pinah 100MW and Omburu 80MW Solar PV Project to be connected at Obib Substation near Rosh Pinah and Omburu substation near Omaruru respectively, as well as the 20MW Khan Independent Power Producer (IPP) Solar PV to be connected to Khan Substation and CERIM 50MW Wind to be connected to the Namib Substation near Luderitz.
In addition, there are various other solar PV projects currently being developed by Independent Power Producers as part of the Modified Single Buyer (MSB) market model.
NamPower explained that the TEES Project is intended to improve the reliability of the country’s transmission network and enable increased integration of renewable energy into the country’s electricity system.
“These increased reliability and integration abilities are not only limited to the Auas and Kokerboom substations on which the transmission line will be connected or the Lithops substation onto which the BESS will be connected but will be realised on all other sections of the transmission network.”
