Otjozondjupa Solar Park

Project Overview

The Otjozondjupa Solar Park, developed by HopSol Africa, claims the title of Namibia’s largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) plant.

The 5 megawatt (MW) alternating current (AC) PV power plant is located near Grootfontein and accounts for approximately one percent of the country’s total generation capacity. The project supplies almost 14,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity per year to the state owned utility company, NamPower, enough energy to power 3,700 average households in Namibia. The PV is powered by 52,000 First Solar modules and it utilizes single-axis tracking technology to maximize energy yield by up to 25 percent. The country currently has a total generation capacity of approximately 430MW and imports over half of its power from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

By generating clean energy from sunlight, the project displaces the need for the equivalent of 300,000 liters of gasoline per year - sufficient for a car to drive the 1691-kilometer length of the Namibia’s B1 highway, over 3,400 times.

The project also displaces 19,000 metrics tons of water per year since PV solar requires no water for power generation and, on a lifecycle basis, consumes less water than most other conventional and renewable generation technologies in the production process. With the smallest carbon footprint, lowest life cycle water use, and fastest energy payback time in the industry, First Solar’s thin-film PV modules provide a sustainable solution to climate change, water scarcity, and energy security.

Project Benefits

• Provides safe, clean and local PV energy for 3,700 Namibian homes
• Increases Namibia’s independency from energy imports and diversifies the country’s energy mix
• Uses First Solar's advanced thin film solar modules, the most eco-efficient PV technology, with the lowest environmental impact of any PV technology
• Generates electricity without usage of water
• Built with First Solar Tracker mounting systems to maximize energy yield by up to 25%

Environmental Benefits

By generating clean energy from sunlight, the project will displace the need for the equivalent of 300,000 liters of gasoline per year - sufficient for a car to drive the 1691-kilometer length of the Namibia’s B1 highway, over 3,400 times.

The project will also displace 19,000 metrics tons of water per year since PV solar requires no water for power generation and, on a lifecycle basis, consumes less water than most other conventional and renewable generation technologies in the production process. With the smallest carbon footprint, lowest life cycle water use, and fastest energy payback time in the industry, First Solar’s thin-film PV modules provide a sustainable solution to climate change, water scarcity, and energy security.