By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
The City of Windhoek has announced that it is working with the Berlin Energy Agency (BEA) on a feasibility study to develop a solar photovoltaic (PV) mini-grid for the Mix Informal SettlementArea (MISA).
The MISA is located about 20km north of the capital in the Windhoek Rural Constituency and the municipality finds it costly to extend power infrastructure there.
At its last ordinary council meeting, the Windhoek City Council has approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Berlin agency, which is a municipal-owned entity of the City of Berlin that offers modern energy solutions and services, it stated.
Through this partnership, the Department of Electricity of the Windhoek municipality and the BEA are collaborating on a feasibility study to develop a solar PV mini-grid for the MISA.
“This initiative aims to provide electricity to the settlement in a more affordable and efficient way, as extending the electrical infrastructure in the area would require significant capital investment,” the municipality said.
The BEA has three business divisions: Consulting, Contracting, and International Know-how Transfer.
A BEA team, led by its Chief Executive OfficerMichael Geisler, visited Windhoek in November 2022 for a week-long engagement to discuss areas of cooperation, which the municipality said are outlined in the draft MoU.
During the same Council meeting the Department of Electricity updated the councillors on the procurement of a 25 MW solar plant in line with the Public Private Partnership Act as approved by the Council in 2017.
The Request for Qualification(RFQ)applicationwas advertised on 18 June 2021 and closed on 19 August 2021.
The department indicated that three bidders out of the 30 were shortlisted to participate in the Request for Proposal stage.
The three bidders are IJG-Akuo Suneg Consortium/IJG-IM; ChargeTech JV Sepco Electric Power Construction Corporation; and Alensy Energy Solutions (Pty) Ltd.
The Windhoek municipality has now issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) to the shortlisted Bidders on 7 August 2023- The three bidders are expected to submit their proposal by 18 November 2023.
Evaluation of the RFP and selection will be done by 18 March next year, and the city expects negotiation to start the next day, while the awarding will be done by 18 August 2024.
The councillors expect the successful contractor to start the construction on 19 August 2024 and complete the project by April 2026. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
CoW Considers A Mini-Grid For Mix Settlement
