Title of paper

6. References

Carbon Footprint. 2011. At http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn_383-carbon-footprint-electricity-generation.pdf; last accessed 20 Dec 2013.
Earthlife Africa. 2000. Nuclear Energy Costs the Earth – An Introduction to the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PMBR). Johannesburg.
Greenpeace. 2007. Nuclear Power – Only problems, no solutions. Facts and figures about nuclear power. The Hague.
Sovacool, B.K. 2008. Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey. Elsevier, Energy Policy 36 (2008): 2940-2953.
White, S. 1995. Energy balance and lifetime emissions from fusion, fission and coal generated electricity. M.S. Thesis, UWFDM-993. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

7. Further reading recommendations

Hecht, G. 2012. Being Nuclear – Africans and the Global Uranium Trade. Cambridge / London. Institute of Technology Massachusetts.

Heinrich Böll Foundation. 2006. Nuclear Power: Myth and Reality – The Risks and Prospects of Nuclear Power. South Africa, Saxonwold. Heinrich Böll Foundation.


Chapter 2

Enhancing Renewable Energies

Namibia’s prospective Power Generation Projects – a Glimpse of the Future

By Natalie A Renkhoff

1. Namibia at a crossroads

The country’s own production of power is not sufficient for the total national power demand. The situation is complicated by the fact that a high amount of electricity is imported from neighbouring countries which used to be cheaper in the past than generating it locally. Namibia consumes more than 500 MW per year, whereby the local maximum generation capacity is 360 MW. However, according to NamPower, in January 2014 the biggest power station in Namibia – the Ruacana hydropower station – could only generate 250 MW.
In order to avoid a possible demand gap from 2016 onwards, new power generation capacities have to be realised. The entire energy sector has to be planned from scratch and the crucial question is – which road does Namibia take?
Not only Namibia, but the whole SADC region faces a serious power shortage, a fact that puts additional pressure on Namibia to not longer rely on energy imports but to find solutions to produce electricity locally. According to numbers provided by the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Willem Isaack, the demand for power in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been increasing by 2.5% per year, and the region is currently experiencing a shortfall of almost 8,000 MW of electricity. The available regional generation capacity in 2013 was 51,702 MW against a demand of 59,144 MW, which leaves a shortfall of 7,709 MW (The Namibian, 5 Sep 2013). Due to decades of under-investment in the energy sector, SADC countries have found themselves today in the midst of an energy crisis. Long-term measures are being adopted to address the energy deficit and to ensure self-sufficiency in energy generation through a so-called Energy Sector Plan that calls for the SADC region to increase power generation by more than 70% and invest at least US$ 170 billion over the next 15 years.
While the government seemed to be in favour of a coal power station close to Arandis in the past, it now develops Kudu gas. This means that Namibia wants to rely on fossil fuels to solve its energy crisis. To fill the time gap until the gas power station can be operational, Isaack expects that between 2013 and 2016 3% of the newly commissioned generation projects will be renewable energy projects. It is often asked if Namibia seriously considers building a nuclear power plant alternatively, which is supported by the argument that Namibia is in the special position to have uranium deposits in the country. Though no concrete plans are in place, the Draft Nuclear Fuel Cycle Policy as of 2012 (GRN, 2011: 2) states in this regard: “Namibia has identified uranium as a strategic mineral and potential source of energy production within the nuclear fuel cycle. Government has expressed its desire to increase benefication to enhance development and has considered nuclear power programme to augment its energy needs.” And further: “[It is] generally accepted that exploring the rest of the nuclear fuel cycle maybe of significant benefit to Namibia”.
This paper gives a general overview of the different sources of energy and familiarizes the reader with recent developments on Namibia’s energy sector.

2. Sources of energy

We distinguish between renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is generally defined as energy coming from resources which are naturally replenished such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.
Non-renewables originate from energy sources on earth limited in quantity and are therefore exhaustible. These include fossil fuels, but also uranium.

There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, petroleum and natural gas. They are not only a limited resource, but also unsustainable and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming.

3. Worldwide energy consumption

The table depicts the total world energy consumption by source in 2010:

Fossil fuels are currently by far the most used energy source. However, many countries throughout the world are busy increasing the amount of renewable energies.
The most used source of renewable energy is biomass. It amounts to almost 60% of the world’s energy consumption regarding renewables. This is not surprising when considering the fact that for example in Namibia only 30% of the population has access to electricity. Biomass is used in many developing countries for various purposes including cooking.
An energy shortage is by no means unusual for African countries. Out of the 53 recognised countries on the African continent, 47% are currently facing an energy crisis (Namibia Economist, No 27, Jul 2013).
The challenge therefore is to capitalise on what energy is available in the country and by developing new products that reduce dependence on the available power supply. Therefore increasing pressure is brought on the earth’s inhabitants to reduce energy consumption in the hopes of balancing the currently skewed energy scales.
Personal consumption habits and decisions matter a lot, and energy conscious behaviours are a key to save energy the smart way and to protect the environment!