Title of paper

POWERING NAMIBIA INTO THE FUTURE

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION

Edited by Natalie A Renkhoff

© Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the authors, 2014

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

PO Box 23652

Windhoek

[e-mail]

Tel. [phone]

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

Please note that the views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publishers or of the editor.

Cover design: Gabriele Moldzio, Bertchen Kohrs and Lund Media

Content editor: Natalie A Renkhoff

Language editor: Gisela Schreiber

Layout: Lund Media

Printing: Solitaire Press (Pty) Ltd

Published by

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in collaboration with Earthlife Namibia Trust, Goethe-Centre, NaDS and LaRRI

ISBN: 978-99945-78-79-5
Preface
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is a German non-governmental organization; a political foundation as we call it. Our background is the German labour movement and the Social Democratic Party, our task is to support democratic decision making by civic education, research and consultancy. Apart from Germany, we work in more than one hundred countries, trying to support democracy and social justice. We have been present in Namibia since 1989, even before we co-operated with the liberation movement.
The training programme for young Namibians on the energy sector was a proposal of various civil society organizations. We were pleased to accept it and joined in. On one side FES has experience with training programmes for young activists, our Youth Leadership Development Programme is our most important activity in Namibia currently. We believe that investing in the future by helping to create a potential for skilled and responsible leaders is a very important task for national development. On the other side sustainability in economic policy is becoming a more and more important feature, and the considerations on future energy production in Namibia in our view are not sufficiently connected to the needs to mitigate climate change. We hope we will be able to continue this training project.
This textbook forms a solid base for future decision making. A choice for more renewable sources of energy seems to be a must for Namibia. We wish it will help to cope with the challenges of the future.
Michael Schultheiß

Resident Representative of

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Acknowledgements
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Earthlife Namibia, the Goethe-Centre, the Namibian German Foundation for Cultural Cooperation and the Labour Resource and Research Institute offered a training programme in 2013 called:
Training young Namibians on the Energy Sector – sustainable options to meet Namibia’s rising energy demand.
The challenge faced by Namibia today is that domestic energy generation is not adequate to meet current and future projected demand. Therefore, government has to take an urgent policy decision on how to reform the energy sector to meet Namibia’s rising energy needs. The training programme was intended to give information about the close interconnection between the different ways of energy production, the protection of the environment and the mitigation of climate change.
Between May and October ten young Namibians were taught on all aspects of the energy sector. The training consisted of four modules with more than 120 hours training in total. The first module was on climate change and how energy production can have an influence on the impacts of climate change. The second and the third module dealt with the different sources of energy that are being discussed for Namibia – renewable energies, conventional sources of energy and nuclear power. The final module concentrated on techniques and strategies for awareness creation.
This book, whose articles have been written by the lecturers, reflect the contents of the training programme. We managed to engage a distinguished group of lecturers for the training programme whose lectures gave a comprehensive insight into today’s energy issues. Some of our participants also contributed to this book. Thanks go to them!
The main purpose of this book is to offer a multi-faceted insight into Namibia’s energy issues. It is intended to enable young Namibians to participate in the process of influencing Namibia’s energy sector and to create civil awareness in their respective communities. Furthermore, the publication is destined to be a useful reference book for students, academics, policymakers and all members of the public interested in the topics covered therein. It will also serve as teaching material in forthcoming training programmes.
Besides the authors, many others have contributed to the success of the training programme and this book. Over the course of the training programme, one accumulates more debts than can be acknowledged in just a few lines. I wish to thank everyone who has participated in the training programme and this publication in one way or another.
A special word of thanks is due to those who contributed financially to both the training programme and this publication, namely the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. My particular gratitude goes to Mr. Michael Schultheiß, the Resident Representative of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Namibia, for his active involvement in the training programme and this book.
My special gratitude goes to Ms. Bertchen Kohrs, the Director of Earthlife Namibia. Without her, neither the training programme, nor this book would have been possible. She saw the need to teach young Namibians on the energy sector, gathered a group of dedicated people and made the training programme a reality with her enthusiasm. She did not only teach in the programme, but encouraged and assisted our participants in starting their own projects. Thanks are also due to all Earthlife Namibia members who always supported the project and especially Ms. Gisela Schreiber who completed the language editing for this book.
For the organisation of the energy-festival, as well as for making their premises for the training programme and the launch available, a word of thanks is due to the Goethe-Centre, namely the former Director Mr. Francois Hartz and the Managing Director Assistant Ms. Ruth Suermann. It was Ms. Sabine Aquilini, the then Director of the Goethe-Centre, who had the novel idea to combine a training programme with a festival to attract young people – and she has been proved correct. She was one of the pioneers of the programme and I would like to thank her for her extraordinary commitment during the planning phase.
LaRRI is thanked for being a project partner and namely Ms. Hilma Shindondola, the Director, who contributed with her special knowledge to the curriculum of the training programme.
The Hon. Ben Amathila deserves a special word of appreciation for taking part in a discussion round with our participants of the training programme. The Ministry of Mines and Energy is thanked for a guided tour through the Ministry as well as a vivid discussion on ongoing energy topics. Dr. Wotan Swiegers, the Director of the Uranium Institute, is not only thanked for informing our participants on new developments in the mining sector, but also for assisting in the organisation of a private tour through the Rössing Uranium Mine. Mr. Conrad Roedern from Solar Age is thanked for his application orientated lectures on solar power.
This publication reflects developments, status and information until January 2014. Please note that any final errors or omissions that may remain are the responsibility of the individual authors.

Windhoek, February 2014

Natalie A Renkhoff

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to climate change 3

2. Common terminologies 3

2.1 Weather and climate change 3

2.2 Climate variability and climate change 3

3. Detecting climate change 4

3.1 Historical climate trends for Namibia 6

3.1.1 Temperature 6

3.1.2 Rainfall 7

3.2 Future projections for Namibia 8

3.2.1 Temperature 8

3.2.2 Rainfall 10

3.3 Limitations for climate change prediction 10

4. Global warming and climate change 10

5. Causes of climate change 11

6. Greenhouse gas inventory for Namibia 12

7. Impacts of climate change in Namibia 13

7.1. Vulnerability to climate change 13

7.2 Climate change impacts in key sectors 14

7.2.1 Water resources 14

7.2.2 Agriculture 14

7.2.3 Coastal zone and fisheries 15

7.2.4 Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) and tourism 15

7.2.5 Economy 16

8. Climate change mitigation and adaptation 16

8.1 Mitigation 16

8.2 Adaptation 17

9. References 19

10. Further reading recommendations 19

1. What is the ozone layer? 21

2. How does ozone depletion occur? 21

3. What is being done about ozone depletion? 22

4. Will the ozone layer recover? 22

5. What can Namibians do to reduce our contribution to ozone depletion? 23

6. Make a difference 23

1. Introduction 25

2. Namibian climate change law 25

2.1 The legal hierarchy 25

2.1.1 The Constitution 26

2.1.2 Statutory law and regulations 27

2.1.3 Policies 27

3. International climate change law 27

3.1 UN-Conventions 28

3.1.1 COP & MOP 29

3.2 Climate change law in the African Union and the Southern African Development Community 30

3.3 Montreal Protocol 30

4. Application of international climate change law in Namibia 30

4.1 Challenges of developing countries in international climate negotiations 31

5. The Namibian Climate Change Committee 31

6. References 32

7. Further reading recommendations 32

1. Introduction 33

2. Steps taken to implement the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol 33

2.1 The first country study on climate change 33

2.2 Further steps taken by Namibia 33

2.2.1 National Communications 34

2.2.2 National Policy on Climate Change for Namibia 34

2.2.3 Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 35

2.2.4 Other documents 35

3. Priority areas for action taking 36

3.1 Action taking through adaptation measures 36

3.2 Action taking through awareness raising 36

4. Challenges and constraints to successful action taking 37

5. References 37

6. Further reading recommendations 37

1. Young people and climate change 39

2. Stakeholders of youth action 39

2.1 African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) 39

2.2 Namibian Youth Coalition on Climate Change (NYCCC) 40

3. Namibia Climate Change Adaptation Youth Action Programme 40

4. Practical action through pilot projects 41

5. References 41

1. Introduction 43

2. Rio Principles 43

2.1 Common but differentiated responsibilities 43

3. The Kyoto mechanisms 44

3.1 Classification of Parties to the UNFCCC 44

3.2 Cap and trade principle 46

3.3 Clean Development Mechanism 46

3.3.1 Project process 46

3.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages 47

4. References 49

5. Further reading recommendations 49

1. Introduction 51

2. The Clean Development Mechanism 51

2.1 Geographical distribution 51

2.2 The CDM application process 52

3. CDM project activities in Namibia 53

3.1 Power generation from biogas in Windhoek 53

3.1.1 Project description 53

3.1.2 Contribution to sustainable development 53

3.2 Methane recovery and power generation at the Kupferberg Landfill in Windhoek 54

3.2.1 Project description 54

3.2.2 Contribution to sustainable development 54

3.3 Power generation from encroacher bush 55

3.3.1 Project description 55

3.3.2 Contribution to sustainable development 55

3.3.3 Environmental concerns of bush harvesting 55

3.4 Using manure of cows to generate power 56

3.4.1 Project description 56

4. Comparison and critique 56

4.1 Comparing Namibia’s CDM project activities 56

4.2 Namibia’s project activities in a global context 58

4.3 Challenges 60

4.4 Using the BMU criteria on Namibia 60

4.4.1 Investment needed per CER 60

4.4.2 Investment climate 61

4.4.3 Technical feasibility 61

5. Conclusion 61

6. References 62

1. Introduction 64

2. Carbon footprint 64

3. Life-cycle analysis 65

4. Other facts to be considered 67

5. Conclusion 69

6. References 69

7. Further reading recommendations 69

1. Namibia at a crossroads 73

2. Sources of energy 74

3. Worldwide energy consumption 74

4. Renewables vs. non-renewables 74

5. Projects and initiatives to improve the power supply situation 75

5.1 Short-term projects 76

5.2 Medium- and long-term projects 77

6. Conclusion 78

7. References 78

1. Overview 80

2. Renewable energy technologies for a sustainable future 80

2.1 Namibian invader bush 80

2.2 Solar photovoltaics 81

2.3 Solar water heaters 82

2.4 Concentrated solar power 84

2.5 Wind power 84

3. Benefits and values from renewable energy technologies 85

4. Conclusions 86

1. Introduction 88

2. Regulatory framework 89

3. Legal framework 90

3.1 Namibian statutory laws 91

3.2 Projects, plans and programmes on renewable energies 92

4. Procurement mechanisms 94

4.1 Feed-in tariffs 95

4.2 Tendering 96

4.3 Power purchase agreements 96

4.4 Quota systems and green certificates 97

4.5 Net metering 97

5. References 98

6. Further reading recommendations 98

1. Overview 99

2. Namibia’s electricity sector 99

2.1 Introduction 99

2.2 Units for electrical energy and electricity generation capacity 100

2.3 Sources of electrical energy 101

2.4 Electricity use in Namibia 103

3. Energy efficiency potentials in Namibia’s electricity sector 104

4. Conclusions 105

1. Introduction 107

2. History of Namibia’s energy sector 107

3. Supply of power 108

4. The price of power 110

4.1 People and wealth in Namibia 111

4.2 The grid 113

4.3 How to finance power in Namibia? 115

5. References 116

6. Further reading recommendations 116

1. Introduction 119

2. Background information on Namibia’s uranium 120

2.1 Why the uranium rush? 121

2.2 Process of uranium mining 122

3. The Namibian uranium mines in detail 123

3.1 Rössing 123

3.2 Langer Heinrich 124

3.3 Trekkopje 125

3.4 Uranium mines under construction or planned 126

3.4.1 Husab 126

3.4.2 Valencia 126

3.4.3 Etango 126

3.4.4 Deep Yellow 127

3.4.5 Marenica 127

3.4.6 Zhonghe 127

4. Where does Namibia’s uranium go to? 128

5. Associated industries 128

6. Institutions controlling Namibia’s nuclear industry 128

6.1 Atomic Energy Board of Namibia 128

6.2 Uranium Institute Namibia 129

6.3 Namibia Uranium Association 129

7. Nationalisation of strategic minerals 129

8. Conclusion 129

9. References 130

10. Further reading recommendations 130

1. Discovery of uranium 132

2. The situation at Rössing prior to Independence 133

3. Labour conditions 134

3.1 Mine Workers Union of Namibia 135

4. Living conditions 135

5. The Rössing Foundation 136

6. Rössing’s financial difficulties 136

7. References 136

1. Introduction 138

2. The principle of sustainable development 138

2.1 Historical development 139

2.2 Namibia’s way to sustainable development 140

3. Pillars of the sustainable development principle 140

3.1 The economic pillar 141

3.2 The environmental pillar 142

3.3 The social pillar 143

4. Sustainable mining – what does it mean? 143

5. References 144

1. Introduction 146

2. Soil and biodiversity 146

3. Radiation 146

4. Water 147

5. Groundwater 147

6. Tourism 148

7. Health risks 148

8. Socio-economic conditions 148

9. References 149

1. Introduction 150

2. Namibian mining laws and policies 150

3. Types of licences under the Minerals Act 151

4. Strategic Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments 153

4.1 Definition 153

4.2 Strategic Environmental Assessment 154

4.2.1 Scenarios 155

4.2.2 Strategic Environmental Management Plan 157

4.3 Environmental Impact Assessment 157

4.3.1 Procedure 158

4.3.2 Weaknesses in the EIA process 158

5. References 159

6. Further reading recommendations 159

1. Uranium 161

2. Ionizing radiation 161

3. Electromagnetic spectrum 162

4. Decay chain of Uranium-238 164

5. The periodic table 164

6. Isotopes 165

7. Radiation protection 166

8. Summary 167

9. Activities, research and debates 167

1. Introduction and background 169

2. General health impacts of uranium mining 169

3. The experiences of workers at Rössing uranium mine 170

4. The health problems 170

5. The unexplained illnesses 171

6. The mystery remains 172

7. Conclusion 172

8. References 173

9. Further reading recommendations 173

1. Introduction 175

2. Dangers of radioactivity 175

3. Health activities by Rössing 176

4. MUN activities 177

5. Conclusion 177

6. References 177

1. The nuclear fuel chain 179

1.1 Mining and milling 179

1.2 Conversion 180

180

1.3 Enrichment 180

1.4 Fuel fabrication 181

1.5 The nuclear reactor 181

1.6 Radioactive waste disposal 182

1.7 Reprocessing 182

2. Links in the nuclear fuel chain 183

3. The nuclear fuel chain in Africa 183

4. Summary 184

1. Africa and the bomb 185

1.1 The Manhattan Project 185

1.2 Uranium for the US and British bomb programme 185

1.3 Weapons testing in Africa 185

1.4 The South African bomb programme 185

1.5 The Treaty of Pelindaba 186

2. Weapons of mass destruction and the Cold War 186

2.1 Assessing the destructiveness of nuclear weapons 186

2.2 Impacts of the Cold War 186

2.3 Fear of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction 186

2.4 Remaining dangers 187

3. The IAEA 187

4. Summary 188

5. Activities, research and debates 188

1. Introduction 191

2. What is policy advocacy? 191

2.1 Definition 191

2.2 Planning an advocacy initiative 193

3. A case example – advocating for renewable energy 194

3.1 The case 194

3.2 Knowledge-skills-attitude related aspects 195

4. Learning process 197

4.1 Advocacy is not a threat – activity 198

4.2 Reaching out but where, targeted advocacy – activity 198

4.3 Different media require different approaches: social media – activity 199

4.4 Participants as advocates – activity 199

4.5 Creating awareness in Namibia – activity 199

4.6 Advocacy is not a once off event 199

5. Further reading recommendations 200

1. The news media defined 202

2. Journalism defined 202

3. The raison d’etre of journalism and news media 202

4. Journalism and public relations 203

5. Types of releases 203

6. Writing news releases that get attention 204

7. Building trust with media people 204

8. The practical example 205

9. References 206

10. Further reading recommendations 207

The Contributors 208

List of Abbreviations

AAP	Africa Adaptation Project
AEB	Atomic Energy Board of Namibia
ANC	African National Congress
AU	African Union
AYICC	African Youth Initiative on Climate Change
BCC	Benguela Current Commission
BMU	Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany
BTE	Bush-to-Electricity
CANUC	Campaign Against the Namibian Uranium Contract
CBD	Convention on Biological Diversity
CBDR	Common but differentiated responsibility
CBNRM	Community Based Natural Resources Management
CCF	Cheetah Conservation Fund
CDM	Clean Development Mechanism
CER	Certified Emission Reduction
CFC	Chlorofluorocarbon
CLRA	Communal Land Reform Act
CNNC	China National Nuclear Corporation
COD	Congress of Democrats
COP	Conference of the Parties
CSP	Concentrated Solar Power
DEA	Directorate of Environmental Affairs
DNA	Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA	Designated National Authority
DR	Demand Reduction (campaign)
DRFN	Desert Research Foundation of Namibia
DSM	Demand Side Management
ECB	Electricity Control Board
EE	Energy Efficiency
EFF	Energy for Future
EIA	Environmental Impact Assessment
EIT	Economy in Transition
EMA	Environmental Management Act
EMP	Environmental Management Plan
EPL	Exclusive Prospecting Licence
ESIA	Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
ESKOM	Electricity Supply Commission
EU	European Union
EWH	Electric Water Heater
FID	Final Investment Decision
FY	Financial Year
GCM	General Circulation Model
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GHG	Greenhouse gas
GIZ	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
GMO	Genetically Modified Organism
GS	Green Scheme
GWH	Gigawatt-hour
GWP	Global Warming Potential
HAN	Hospitality Organisation of Namibia
HCFC	Hydrofluorocarbon
HVDC	High-voltage direct current transmission
IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency
ICAN	International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
ICDP	Integrated Conservation and Development Projects
ICRP	International Commission on Radiological Protection
ICZM	Integrated Coastal Zone Management
IDC	Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
INC	Initial National Communication
IPP	Independent Power Producer
IPPC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IWRM	Integrated Water Resources Management
JI	Joint Implementation
kW	kilowatt
kWh	kilowatt-hour
LaRRI	Labour Resource and Research Institute
LDC	Least-developed Country
LED	Light Emitting Diode
LHU	Langer Heinrich Uranium
LUCF	Land-use Change and Forestry Sector
MDRL	Mineral Deposit Retention Licence
MET	Ministry of Environment and Tourism
ML	Mining Licence
MME	Ministry of Mines and Energy
MOP	Meeting of the Parties
MUN	Mine Workers Union of Namibia
MW	Megawatt
MWh	Megawatt-hour
NAMREP	Namibian Renewable Energy Programme
NCCI	Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry
NCCP	National Climate Change Programme
NDP	National Development Plan
NECSA	Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa
NEEP	Namibia Energy Efficiency Programme in Buildings
NEPAD	New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NEPL	Non-Exclusive Prospecting Licence
NERA	Namibian Energy Regulatory Authority
NGO	Non-governmental organisation
NIED	National Institute for Educational Development
NIRP	National Integrated Resource Plan
NPC	National Planning Commission
NPP	Namibia Poverty Profiles
NPT	Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
NSA	Namibia Statistics Agency
NSHR	National Society for Human Rights
NUA	Namibia Uranium Association
NYCCC	Namibian Youth Coalition on Climate Change
ODS	Ozone-depleting substances
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OGEMP	Off-Grid Energisation Master Plan
PARTiZans	People Against Rio Tinto Zinc And Subsidiaries
PFC	Power Factor Correction
PPA	Power Purchase Agreement
PV	Photovoltaic
PWR	Pressurized Water Reactor
RE	Renewable Energy
RED	Regional Electricity Distributor
REDMP	Rural Electricity Distribution Master Plan
REEECAP	Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Capacity Building Programme
REEEI	Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Institute
REPM	Renewable Energy Procurement Mechanism
RET	Renewable Energy Technology
RL	Reconnaissance Licence
RTZ	Rio Tinto Zinc
SADC	Southern African Development Community
SAPP	Southern African Power Pool
SEA	Strategic Environmental Assessment
SEMP	Strategic Environmental Management Plan
SNC	Second National Communication
SRF	Solar Revolving Fund
STCS	Short Term Critical Supply Project
SWA	South-West Africa
SWAPO	South West Africa People’s Organisation
SWAWEK	South West Africa Water and Electricity Corporation
SWH	Solar Water Heater
TB	Tuberculosis
TIPEEG	Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth
TNC	Third National Communication
TWh	Terawatt-hour
UIN	Uranium Institute Namibia
UKAEA	United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
UN	United Nations
UNCBD	United Nations Convention on Biological Biodiversity
UNCCD	United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UNCED	United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNFCCC	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USAID	United States Agency for International Development
USEPA	United States Environmental Protection Agency
UV	Ultraviolet
V&A	Vulnerability & Adaptation Assessment
VPS	Virtual Power Station

Chapter 1

The Interconnection between Climate Change and Energy Production

Understanding Climate Change Basics, Vulnerability, Adaptation and Mitigation

By Viviane Kinyaga