Angola-Namibia green hydrogen project goes to 5GW

According to the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), plans for a massive renewables-powered green hydrogen project in Angola and Namibia have been quadrupled, from 1GW to 5GW of generation capacity.

When AFSIA chief executive John van Zuylen convened a webinar on Thursday to give the organization’s annual report for 2021, the project in Southern Africa was one of the instances mentioned by the trade organization as proof of a robust large-scale solar pipeline on the continent.

Van Zuylen also mentioned the commencement of a 1GW solar project in Algeria last year, which is expected to be completed this year, as well as plans for five projects totaling 975MW in South Africa.

Africa’s share of new worldwide solar capacity decreased to just 0.5 percent last year, down from 3.1 percent three years ago, according to the CEO, although he noted hopeful advances in the commercial and industrial, mini-grid, and solar home system (SHS) segments of the industry.

According to AFSIA, Kenya is leading the charge in the generally single-panel SHS household solar sector, with high regional activity in East Africa, but West Africa also had good results last year, with 20 million SHS units running in Africa by 2021, benefiting 100 million people.

According to the trade body’s annual report, despite the fact that the size of the systems sold was less than the previous year, more units were moved, and such small-scale solutions to power irrigation and cold storage were becoming more popular.

Even though just 49MWp of generation capacity was delivered by such off-grid networks across the continent in the previous 12 months, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria had robust mini-grid markets in 2021. According to AFSIA, there is still a gap between project announcements and delivery, with just around 30% of mini-grid projects planned in 2020 actually materializing.

Instead of preparing to export the clean hydrogen used to manufacture such commodities, the solar industry membership body reiterated the suggestion that Africa should consider harnessing the green hydrogen output that could be offered by the rich renewables potential of countries like Algeria, Namibia, and South Africa to establish domestic ammonia and fertilizer industries.

In terms of the prognosis for solar in Africa this year, AFSIA CEO Van Zuylen emphasized the increased demand for PV from mining and telecoms companies on the continent, as well as stronger enabling laws, such as simplified permitting requirements in South Africa.