NamPower reports 'measured progress' on Baynes project

NamPower is reporting measurable progress on the long-awaited Baynes Hydroelectric Power Project, a multi-billion-dollar joint venture with Angola. Speaking on “The Power Shift”, the Ministry of Industries’ podcast, NamPower’s chief commercial officer, Fritz Jacobs, said Baynes had been identified as a priority project aimed at securing Namibia’s electricity supply beyond 2030. “When it comes to priority projects at a strategic level, the government has a bilateral engagement for the Baynes project, which is 881 megawatt (MW), of which 50% is aimed at Namibia. The two governments [Namibia and Angola] are engaged, and the timeline is 2032,” Jacobs said. The governments of Angola and Namibia were committed towards seeing the project through to its logical conclusion, Jacobs said. “The engagements have been fruitful. There may have been an element of pace, an element of funding and so on, but there was an agreement signed which paves the way for the acceleration of the Baynes project,” he said. In October 2024, the Cabinet approved the implementation agreement for the construction of the Baynes Hydroelectric Power Plant with the government of Angola, further advancing the power project.At the time, information minister Emma Teofilus said while providing a Cabinet briefing update: “Cabinet approved the implementation agreement between the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of Angola on the development, construction and operation of the Baynes Hydro Power Plant and Cabinet authorised the Minister of Mines and Energy to sign the said agreement, on behalf of the government.” Increased capacityInitially earmarked to deliver 600 MW, the plant has seen its planned capacity increase to 881 MW.The Baynes Hydroelectric Power Project will be situated on the lower Kunene River along the Namibia-Angola border. Electricity generated from the plant will be shared equally between the two countries through the Namibia-Angola Transmission Interconnection platform. The project will be funded through a public financing model and is projected to cost US$1.3 billion.Similar to the Ruacana Power Station, the Baynes Dam will function as a mid-merit peaking station, so that NamPower can avoid buying imported power during peak hours. During the wet season, the Baynes Power Station will run at full capacity, while during the dry season, the generators will generate at maximum during mid-merit/peak periods only, while 71 MW would be generated during off-peak periods.Long-awaitedThe Baynes project on the Kunene River has been in progress since 2008. A feasibility study was commissioned and completed in 2014. A follow-up study was initiated in 2021 and completed in 2023.According to a communiqué from the meeting, the two line ministers approved the transformation of the Baynes project offices into a joint office to be located either in Luanda or Windhoek.They also approved the development of an additional regulating dam, about 12 km downstream from the main dam, with a capacity of 21 MW.

NamPower reports 'measured progress' on Baynes project

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NamPower reports 'measured progress' on Baynes project

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