NamPower looking to raise US$450 mln

Bonds to be sold
NamPower intends to issue bonds in a bid to boost generation.
Kaula Nhongo and Paul Burkhardt
  • 9 Hours Ago
The state-owned electricity utility plans to raise US$450 million by selling bonds in the country and raising development bank loans to help the southwest African nation boost power generation.

Namibia Power Corp. said it has signed loan agreements totaling 166 million euros with the KfW and Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the development banks of Germany and France, and is working on a loan of an unspecified size from the World Bank.

It also plans to raise N$5 billion Namibian dollars (US$275 million) via a bond issue aimed at domestic investors, to be listed on the Namibia Stock Exchange in the first quarter of 2025, NamPower MD Kahenge Haulofu said in an emailed response to questions.

He said KfW will lend 66 million euros for a proposed solar park at Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia. AFD has committed 100 million euros for Namibia’s biomass project, which aims to generate energy by burning invasive brush encroaching on the nation’s grasslands.

The southwest African nation is striving to end a longstanding reliance on electricity imports from neighbouring South Africa by diversifying the mix from which it generates energy.



Solar

The start of that effort has been concentrated on solar technology, which has raised complex issues of how to balance demand on the grid, with peak usage occurring in the evening hours whereas solar provides most power in daytime.

Planned generation capacity includes solar, wind, biomass and the 50-megawatt Anixas II power project at Walvis Bay that will use very low sulfur fuel oil, diesel, or natural gas, NamPower said. Batteries will be installed to store energy for use during peak hours.

The southern Africa nation, which contains some of the best solar potential in the world, is also considering designating midday as off-peak, when it would charge less for electricity. That will “incentivise generators to install battery energy storage to shift energy from daytime to peak hours or consider alternative technology,” NamPower said.

Namibia is also planning a slate of green hydrogen projects, which generate the fuel by splitting water using electricity from renewable power plants. It also wants to use natural gas resources found off its coast, along with oil discoveries by TotalEnergies SE and Shell Plc, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

-BLOOMBERG