Midgard reduces carbon footprint

Staff Reporter - A newly constructed solar power plant at Midgard Country Estate will save the establishment more than N$17 million in electricity cost and thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 25 years.

The plant, constructed by Cronimet Mining Power Solutions, was officially handed over to O&L Energy, owner and financier of the project and a subsidiary of the O&L Group, in December.

Terence Makari, managing director of O&L Leisure, says the 128 kilowatt at peak (kWp) power plant is part of the company’s journey towards going green. “We are passionately committed to the O&L Group vision metric of reducing our carbon footprint by 20% by 2019,” he says.

According to the chief executive officer of O&L Energy, Bernd Walbaum, the solar power plant at Midgard is an investment of N$4 million. It is partly subsidided by Cronimet’s development programme together with the German Investment & Development Organisation (DEG) on condition that the plant be used as a demonstration for training purposes to universities, programmes and individuals.

Cronimet, the strategic partner of O&L Energy, is currently constructing another larger solar power plant at the Etosha Mokuti Lodge – a member of the O&L Leisure portfolio – which expected to be operational later this month. “We also agreed with O&L Leisure to build, own and operate a new hybrid solar power plant with battery storage and diesel generators at its Chobe Water Villas,” Walbaum says.

A significant aspect of the power plant at Midgard is the speciality service which includes a monitoring and energy management system designed to optimally manage power consumption of the lodge, he says. “The production of electricity at Midgard will thus be optimised by the system to suit the demand. The system can also manage energy consumption, thus contributing significantly, and even further to cost-saving on electricity usage.

Strategy

Due to the weather conditions at the coast, the construction of a solar power plant for the Strand Hotel Swakopmund is not an option at this stage. “However, we do host other sustainable systems at the Strand Hotel Swakopmund, in support of our contribution to controlling the energy usage at the facility,” Makari says.

Some of these include the automatic switching off of lights when residents remove their access cards from the card holder and exit the rooms. A carbon neutrality strategy is being reviewed which will enable the O&L Group companies to acquire PV electricity through future wheeling agreements and through in-house carbon offset credits. This will allow grid-connected operations like the Strand Hotel to sponsor carbon offset certificates provided by OLC Solar Energy, O&L Group’s renewable energy IPP subsidiary, for the renewable energy it generates and sells to Namibia’s national and regional distributors.

Renovations

The solar power plant at Midgard Country Estate intertwines with the current renovations process currently underway at the establishment.

The first phase of the renovations master plan for Midgard, which kicked off earlier this year, entailed minor renovations to existing structures and the removal of certain absolute structures.

“The renovations are being done to revitalise, upgrade and enhance our guests’ experience, to return Midgard to its former glory where memories have been created amongst friends and family, and to bring the property on par with the others within the O&L Leisure portfolio,” Makari says.