Renewable power in Namibia risks becoming too much for its power grid
Namibia may soon have to temper its love for renewable power — at least until the grid can catch up. In just a few years, the nation of only about 2.5-million people has installed almost 55MW of generation from renewables and has projects under construction for another 121MW, according to NamPower, the state-owned utility. The total installed capacity combined with committed renewable generation "is reaching the threshold the grid can accommodate," the utility said in an e-mailed reply to questions. The comments illustrate the limits of how quickly wind and solar farms can penetrate nations before bigger investment is required in the power distribution network. Unlike traditional power plants that can run round the clock, renewables feed electricity to the grid only when the sun shines or the wind blows. Technically, Nambia can handle about 275MW of renewables, which is about half of the midday load, the utility said, citing 2017 studies. The country relies on imports for about 60% ...
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