Renewable Energy Conferences

On the 29th and 30th of January the Wind Power Demonstration Project held conferences in order to raise awareness about renewable energy possibilities in Luderitz. The Conference on the 29th was held at 9.00am in the German Hostel and local schools participated in the event. Learners from Helene Van Rhijn and the Luderitz Christian School took part in a poster competition and many students and teachers from Luderitz Secondary School attended, as well as the Regional Councillor, David Shoombe. The opening remarks were made by Mr. Shoombe who said he wants to make use of the wind for renewable energy as massive amounts of finite sources are being consumed by the people of Namibia. He encouraged the learners present to become scientists and leaders and to use wave and wind energy in the future. It was discovered in 1992 that if we used wind power to its maximum potential then it could provide enough electricity to cover the entire Karas Region and part of the Northern Cape. There is demand for 550MW of electricity per year; Ruacana only produces 240MW and it’s a hydro-plant so the electricity is seasonal; Van Eck is a coal plant and produces 120MW but is incredibly expensive to run and costs the country N$1000000.00 per day when it’s on; Paratus uses diesel and only creates 24MW. In total, Namibia generates 384MW of electricity, which is insufficient. Currently, half of our power is imported from South Africa, which seems ridiculous as we could be the ones selling if we took advantage of our natural, renewable resources.
The Energy Conference that took place on Saturday began at 9.00am and demonstrated how one might use renewable energy to power household appliances. Unfortunately it was overcast and Luderitz, for once, did not feel the need to blow. As a result, the demonstration was not quite as spectacular as we had hoped but the solar battery on the “Energy Demonstration Trailer” provided enough electricity to prove a point. The aim of the demonstration was to raise awareness and spread information about renewable energy and energy efficient technologies, measures and practices in urban, rural and peri-urban Namibian Settlements. The actual project began in 2006 through local initiative and was funded by the United Nations Development Program through GEF. They have placed one turbine beside Luderitz Secondary School, which has recently been removed, and another beside the Regional Council Office where it powers the Eco-Sewing Project. The Eco-Sewing Project is where local women can earn a salary making and mending clothes and the wind turbine provides the electricity needed to power their sewing machines. In the future they hope to put up more turbines but need help from sponsors to achieve this as their funds have just run out and are grateful for any support for the project.
From the Energy Conference the day before, several youths from Luderitz Secondary School decided to create a Luderitz Wind Club to continue to raise awareness within the town about wind energy and the project donated N$500 to the cause. They hope to raise enough money to erect more wind turbines around Luderitz. At present the club only has a few members but they hope to expand in the future.