FEBRUARY, 2019
ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY News & Analysis
The Official Country Briefing of RDJ Consulting
This Months Issue: FOSTERING RENEWABLES IN SUBSAHARAN AFRICA
MAINTAINING WATERFRONTS’ RECOGNITION
HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND WATER STORAGE CONFERENCE
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE COMPANY?
Exciting new changes to the briefing Internship program official launch April 2019
FEBRUARY, 2019
2019 Company Expansion By: We have recently expanded our business, with the addition of a marketing and communication department. We realised the crucial need in order to keep our publication at its best standard and published monthly as promised. Watch the space for some exciting opportunities to advertise aligned with our objectives of Sustainable Resource usage is welcome.
Editor: David Jarrett RDJ Consulting Services CC Author: RDJ Consulting Interns* PO Box 23738 Windhoek, NAMIBIA Telephone: +264 61 400 171 Email: briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za
RDJ Consulting Services CC is an advisory consultancy to the Energy, Water and Transport Sectors with a focus on sustainable operations and renewable energy.
Visit our website www.rdjconsulting.co.za for more information.
This report is a FREE Publication and was prepared by RDJ Consulting Services CC based in Windhoek, Namibia. The content is collated from publicly available information and so its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
FEBRUARY, 2019
The Economy Public Private Partnership Policy (PPP) in action In 2017, the Government of Namibia implemented the PPP policy, which recognises the significance of empowering open (public) and private divisions to cooperates in creating extends, and enhance open administration conveyance through private sector arrangement of open framework. Energising the sector for investment in creating jobs is one of the objectives of the policy. As a result of the PPP agreement between Imperial Logistics (a Private company), TransNamib (an SOE), and Cerebos Namibia (a Private company), a new salt packaging and distribution plant at Brakwater has recently been opened at a cost of N$5 million, with the aim of creating more job opportunities for Namibians. Specifically the facility is reported to have created jobs for 12 people and the number is expected to grow before the end of 2019
Facts Population: 2.3 million GDP (PPP): $26.5 billion -1.2% growth 3.6% 5-year compound annual growth $11,312 per capita Unemployment: 23.3% Inflation (CPI): 6.1% FDI Inflow: $416.0 million
FEBRUARY, 2019
Oil & Gas The United Arab Emirate and Namibia in oil supply and gas exploration Namibia and the UAE are reported to both have interests in cooperating in the exploration of Oil and gas. The gulf nation which first explored oil in 1958, produces three million barrels of oil per day making it the 12th largest oil producer in the world. Successful projects that the country has in Namibia is the Al–Dahra Namibia project, a commercial plantation established at Naute Dam, //Karas region, in 2009
Oil spills and their impacts on the environment The city of Windhoek has recently been on the spotlight of an incident of oil spill with a magnitude of affecting “the ecosystem and water reclamation systems.” It is reported to have had a 6000 litres oil spilled into its sewerage system. However, efforts were being done to keep the effects of the incident at a minimal level
FEBRUARY, 2019
Renewable energy Fostering Renewables in SubSaharan Africa It is reported that up to 15 Greenfield Renewable Energy Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to receive private equity funding of up to US$25 million from the African Development Bank. ARPF is a US$ 250 million private equity fund for Renewable Energy projects across Sub-Saharan Africa which will provide equity for the development and construction of the projects. ARPF projects will focus on mature technologies including wind, solar PV, small to medium hydro, geothermal and biomass. These would include grid-connected independent power producers (“IPPs”), and decentralized energy projects (commercial & industrial solar, mini-grids and solar home systems companies). The Fund’s strategy is to prioritize projects with a clear timeline to financial close, with emphasis on de-risking early stage Greenfield Projects.
"The nation that leads in renewable energy will be the nation that leads the world" - James Cameron
FEBRUARY, 2019
MONITORING OF DOMESTIC SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEMS IN THE NATIONAL MASS HOUSING PROJECT UNDER NATIONAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE IN NAMIBIA Written by: Fenni M.T Shidhika, Helvi Ileka, and Matthias Kinateder Abstract The Cabinet Directive of 2007 on solar water heaters (SWH) requires SWH to be installed in all government financed and subsidised buildings such as those of the National Housing Enterprise (NHE). NHE authorised the Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) II project to contract Trinity Business Solutions (TBS) to install 62 SWHs in newly constructed houses under NHE in Namibia starting from December 2015 and completed in March 2016. The purpose of the study is to give a long-term comparison in terms of benefits and challenges between domestic solar water heater (DSWH) and domestic electric water heating (DEWH) systems to policy makers and will guide NHE to implement the cabinet directive. The paper presents results based on two types of households as a case study: Four (4) houses meeting their hot water needs using DSWH and two (2) houses meeting their hot water needs using DEWH. All DSWH installed have auxiliary back up electric elements. All systems were installed with measuring, monitoring and data acquisition equipment to collect data about solar radiation received, thermal performance of the collector, hot water consumption and energy consumption ( both electrical and solar ) including losses. The results indicated that a house with a DSWH can save up to 50 – 96 % for heating the water on annual basis while a house with DEWH uses 37 % of their electricity for heating up the water. The payback period for a 160 L DSWH in Namibia considering an inflation rate of 6 %, an initial investment cost of N$ 25000.00 (cost of SWH + installation cost), 1 % of initial investment for maintenance cost was calculated to be 7 years without any subsidies while with subsidies from MME it was calculated to be 5 years and 1.5 years with subsidies from MME and SOLTRAIN. The results look very promising to demonstrate long term techno-economic benefits of DSWHs compared to a DEWHs.
Please note: The full article is available on request
FEBRUARY, 2019
Water Ensuring that drinking water is free of bacteria Safe drinking water is an essential human need, clean water i.e. water free of bacteria, is characterised by The United Nations as a basic human right. Clean drinking water is first and foremost used for hydration, for the preparation of food, and sanitation? Therefore, how does one ensure the availability of bacteria free drinking water? These methods “substantially reduce the total number of viable microorganisms in the water and eliminate pathogens that cause aquatic infections; the prevalent one being chlorine dioxide and believed to be used by 98 percent of public water systems because of its economic benefits and scientific effectiveness
Recognising the history of waterfronts Historically, ports have always been at the crossroads of change, however, in the past the significance of waterfronts appeared to have been losing traction. This could have been exacerbated by the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution which resulted in “the development of huge ports, commercial industry and large warehouses along major water networks
Cities are now regenerating urban waterfronts to be places of marvel and magnificence, by developing their waterfronts and turning them into places that attract high numbers “of tourists, businesses, recreational activities and residents In Namibia, the Lüderitz waterfront development project, which is expected to have the following range of facilities being; “museum, swimming pool, sport courts, gyms with sea view, cafeteria, an auditorium, cinema hall, coffee shop, two restaurants, lounge, and amphitheatre as well as a host of outdoor and indoor youth and touristfriendly facilities”? It is expected to create permanent close to 150 jobs, “holds a promising future for the town'. Notwithstanding such high prospects it entails and the evident employment figures of 200 people to have been involved in the construction stage, it is reported to have passed its initial completion time, and concerns from those involved in the it are looming because of the constant delays that came as result decreasing capital flows from the government which is/has been the largest funder.
Methods that can be followed: 1. Chlorine Dioxide 2. Chemical Oxidation/Disinfection 3. Chloramine 4. Ozone & UV Treatment 5. Microfiltration
FEBRUARY, 2019
ELECTRICITY HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND WATER STORAGE CONFERENCE SET TO SHOW CASE AFRICA’S POTENTIAL AquaMedia International is organising a conference slated to take place in Windhoek is expected to be held at Safari Court and Conference Centre on water bunkering and hydropower development in Africa in April. The event aims to market the local and continent experts in the field of water resources and hydropower growth and will be headed by workshops and seminars in preparation. Water and Forestry, Mines and Energy, NamWater, and NamPower are the agencies whose presence is to be notable for Namibia additionally a notable international partner in this event is the International Commission on Large Dams (supported by the African Union, UNECA, NEPAD, SAPP, the International Energy Agency, the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage). Among the 650 delegates from 50 global countries that are expected to attend the event and then tour the Naute, Oanab, Neckartal and Hardap dam projects; the teams are from the World Bank, IFC and Africa Development Bank.
FEBRUARY, 2019
Finance Regeneration of historic places requires a substantial amount of finances The LĂźderitz waterfront development project, which involves neither land acquisition, nor site clearance, required except for the infrastructure that needs rehabilitation, requires N$400 million to complete. While acknowledging the concerted efforts of the already existing PPP in the project, Namibia has a booming property market and having it dominate the regeneration of the waterfront through funds allocation would make this project a reality. Typically, the players in the property market have sophisticated redevelopment agencies, as they are mostly private had been critical to the survival of the redevelopment authorities
Renewable energy funding The African Development Bank Group has recently authorised an equity investment of up to US$ 25 million in ARCH Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARPF), a US$ 250 million private equity fund for renewable energy projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, to provide equity for the development and construction of 10 to 15 Greenfield Renewable Energy Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
FEBRUARY, 2019
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY SAVING THE BUSHESGRASSES THROUGH RESEARCH Extensive research on bush fires has demonstrated that using fire carefully can benefit the environment and its inhabitants in the long run. A ten year research venture on the Nyae Nyae Conservancy area in the Otjozondjupa region has found that uncontrolled bush fires were highly detrimental to the environment and villagers livelihoods. In response to the study’s findings, the villagers chose to only burn bush and grass by means of an appropriate burning method, and only during the times when fire could not easily spread to other areas that were not targeted. The winter period is said to now be the time they practice burning and avoid the period from September to November when it is mostly scorching. But by and large, they were helped by those who conducted the research. Notwithstanding the fact that 40 percent of bush and grass was destroyed in that area, the followed stage of the research showed that a 16 percent decrease in the burning was experienced annually. For areas that may have high fuel loads, voluntary burning maybe a necessary act as it will shrink the chances of that area catching fire involuntarily and destroying flora and fauna
FEBRUARY, 2019
Roads and Transport
The Namibian Traffic Information System (NaTIS) calls for vehicles registered with them to be paid for. On 23 January, 2019, the Namibia Traffic Information System (Natis), through the Roads Authority (RA) gave out a notice to government and all corporate clients to settle their outstanding vehicle license fees before 31 March, 2019. The notice further hinted that no client that owes the company will be allowed “to apply for any transaction� until the amount owed is paid in full.
FEBRUARY, 2019
Careers Stay up to date with the latest opportunities through our website & social media pages.
FEBRUARY, 2019
Tenders
Watch this space for the latest tenders. Tenders will be posted monthly in our brief.
FEBRUARY, 2019
Who's Who?
Dedicated to getting to know Namibians Interested in sharing your story with us?
Contact us at marketingcomm@rdjconsulting.co.za
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