SOITEC : USIB CONCENTRATOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEMONSTRATION PLANT INAUGURATED BY NAMIBIAN MINISTER OF MINES AND ENERGY
June 10 2014 - 12:37AM
Located near Rehoboth, 80 km south of Windhoek in central Namibia,
the Usib concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) demonstration plant was
today officially inaugurated by Honourable Isak Katali, Namibian
Minister of Mines and Energy. The 26 kWp CPV plant, which consists
of 2 CPV systems, results from a cooperative agreement between the
French company Soitec, one of the world's leading manufacturers of
CPV modules, and NamPower, the national power utility of Namibia.
The plant generates solar electricity which powers Usib Primary
School and a water pump which irrigates the community garden.
Under the terms of the cooperative agreement,
NamPower selected the site for the plant, liaised with the
relevant stakeholders and, as of July 2015, will operate and
maintain the CPV systems for a period of 18 years, while Soitec
constructed and currently operates the plant, before transferring
the knowledge, operations and maintenance to NamPower.
In his speech, Namibia's Minister of Mines and
Energy, Isak Katali highlighted this project as a concrete example
of "renewable energy in practice". He said: "it is clear through
projects such as this that plenty of opportunities exist for
small-scale renewable energy projects. Namibia has a huge potential
of renewable energy resources, with a direct solar radiation of
about 3000kWh/square meters per annum in some areas of Namibia
being one of the best in the world, and thus offering opportunities
for households not connected to the national electricity grid.
Government therefore remains committed to
supporting renewable energy technologies to complement conventional
energy sources. Independent Power Producers (IPP) in solar, wind
and biomass are thus strongly encouraged to invest in renewable
energy projects such as this one.
The Rural Electricity Master Plan facilitated by
my ministry has identified areas where grid-electrification will
remain a challenge in the foreseeable future and hence solar power
has been the solution. I would therefore like to request the
project partners to consider replicating this project in other
suitable areas, particularly to remote villages in the country that
are far away from the national grid. I am aware of the huge
financial implications of such projects, but I'm convinced that
through forming partnerships this can be realised."
José Bériot, vice president of European and
African solar projects development with Soitec's solar energy
division, commented: "Our CPV technology is perfectly suited for
countries like Namibia, where there is a high direct normal
irradiance. In such regions, our technology - which is already
installed in more than 20 countries - achieves a module efficiency
of 32 percent."
He added: "Since the plant was connected to the
grid in July 2013, it is producing an average of 136 kWh per
day, reducing the amount of electricity consumed from the grid by
Usib school and community to merely 4.6 kWh per day. We are very
proud of this project, as it perfectly illustrates how our CPV
technology contributes to social and economic development in
Africa, to which Soitec is strongly committed".
The Managing Director of NamPower, Mr Paulinus
Shilamba highlighted the fact that NamPower has done a lot in the
past few years in terms of promoting the use of renewable sources
of energy and said that the company will continue to do so to make
sure that the share of renewable energy resources in the Namibian
energy mix is increased to optimal levels. Referring to the Usib
26kW CPV Plant he said that "this is an ideal blueprint in this
regard as it provides the necessary technological framework and
conditions for the successful transfer and deployment of this
specific renewable energy technology for on-grid power generation.
It is also a good example of how the energy sector can make a
meaningful contribution to socio-economic development in the
country through utilization of the energy of the sun; a natural
resource Namibia is blessed with in abundance.
About Soitec
Soitec is an international manufacturing
company, a world leader in generating and manufacturing
revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most
exciting energy and electronic challenges. Soitec's products
include substrates for microelectronics (most notably SOI:
Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic systems (CPV).
The company's core technologies are Smart Cut(TM), Smart
Stacking(TM) and Concentrix(TM), as well as expertise in epitaxy.
Applications include consumer and mobile electronics,
microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive
electronics, lighting products and large-scale solar power plants.
Soitec has manufacturing plants and R&D centers in France,
Singapore, Germany and the United States. For more information
visit: www.soitec.com.
Soitec International Media Contacts:
(Trade Press)
Camille Dufour
+33 (0)6 79 49 51 43
camille.dufour@soitec.com
(Business press)
Marylen Schmidt
+33 (0)6 21 13 66 72
marylen.schmdit@soitec.com
Soitec Investor Relations:
Olivier Brice
+33 (0)4 76 92 93 80
olivier.brice@soitec.com
About NamPower:
NamPower's core business is the generation,
transmission and energy trading, which takes place within the
Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), the largest multilateral energy
platform on the African continent. NamPower supplies bulk
electricity to Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs), Mines,
Farms and Local Authorities (where REDs are not operational)
throughout Namibia. For more information on NamPower visit:
www.nampower.com.na
Issued by: Office of the Managing Director Corporate
Communications & Marketing Tangeni Kambangula Tel: +264
61 205 4111 Fax: +264 61 232805 Email:
Tangeni.Kambangula@nampower.com.na
# # #
Soitec press release in PDF
http://hugin.info/143589/R/1791591/616341.pdf
HUG#1791591
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