230912002103 - Environmental Impact Assessment for the Construction of Farm Astra 50MW Solar PV Power Plant on Farm Buchow 108, Omaheke Region.

Namibia is ranked amongst the most politically stable countries in the world and due to the generally arid and dry climate, Namibia is among the top countries in the world with high values of solar radiation and has an average of 3000 hours of sunshine per annum with average long-term GHI solar resource in the access of 2100 kWh/m2. Making solar energy one of the most widely available and sustainable energy sources in Namibia. The above, makes Namibia an ideal renewable energy investment destination. One of the primary considerations when setting up a large photovoltaic (PV) solar farm is location to maximize how much solar energy is converted into electricity. Namibia has vast expanses of open land with low population density and owned for commercial purposes. This provides ample space for the construction of utility-scale PV plants without significant land use conflicts electricity (Mbala, 2023). It is against this background that TerraWatt Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd has embarked on this opportunity to contribute towards energy self-sufficiency and efficiency by constructing a 50MW Solar PV Power Plant at Farm Buchow 108, in the Omaheke Region. The overall solar PV development will be rolled out in two phases. Phase one will be 50MW PV power plant, whereas phase two will be determined at later stage. The proponent appointed Environam Consultants Trading Cc (ECT) to undertake the Environmental Assessment (EA) in order to obtain an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for the activity from the Office of the Environmental Commissioner in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).