Namibia ranks first globally for average practical solar photovoltaic (PV) power potential, giving the country a major renewable energy advantage that government wants to leverage to develop green hydrogen, mineral refining and manufacturing industries.
Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme Interim Head Joseph Mukendwa said the country’s solar and wind resources could provide the low-carbon electricity required to shift Namibia from exporting raw materials towards producing higher-value industrial products.
Speaking at the African Green Industries Summit 2026 in Swakopmund, Mukendwa said the World Bank’s Global Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country assessment ranks Namibia first globally for average practical PV power potential.
“The World Bank has essentially indicated that Namibia is number one in the world for practical PV power potential. The second superpower is wind,” Mukendwa said.
He said Namibia now needs to translate its renewable energy advantage into domestic industrial capacity rather than continuing to export resources with limited local processing.
“The question we need to ask ourselves is: will we continue to export, or will we produce the molecules and electrons that we can then utilise to industrialise and export green steel, fertilisers and manufactured products?” Mukendwa said.
He said Namibia’s green hydrogen strategy extends beyond producing hydrogen for export, with opportunities to use renewable electricity to support agriculture, fertiliser production, mineral refining and manufacturing.
Mukendwa said the country could also develop industries supplying equipment and inputs required by the emerging green hydrogen sector, including solar panels and electrolysers.
“We have an opportunity to ensure that we can potentially manufacture some of those inputs here,” he said.
Mukendwa said access to low-cost, low-carbon electricity could also support greater domestic processing of Namibia’s mineral resources.
“We have uranium as well as elements. How can we utilise the excess low-cost electricity, low-carbon electricity that is generated to ensure that we can refine these minerals here?” he said.
However, he said building green industrial value chains will require significant supporting infrastructure, including additional electricity generation and transmission capacity, water infrastructure and other common-user facilities.
Government is also working on institutional and policy measures to support the industrialisation drive, including the Green Industries Council, the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme and a Green Industrialisation Policy.
Mukendwa said work is underway on common-user infrastructure, environmental and social assessments, project financing and developing local businesses capable of participating in emerging green industrial value chains.
Erongo Governor Natalia /Goagoses said Namibia’s renewable energy resources must translate into employment, skills development and opportunities for local businesses as investment in green industries expands.
“Green industrialisation must create real, lasting and sustainable benefits for our people. It must create jobs, not only jobs, but decent jobs for our youth. It must develop skills, and it must strengthen local businesses, Namibian-owned businesses,” /Goagoses said.
She said industrial development should also expand opportunities for communities while ensuring environmental protection remains central to the development process.
Meanwhile, Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) Interim Chief Executive Officer Julia Muetudhana said stronger project preparation is required to turn Namibia’s green economy opportunities into investable projects.
Speaking following the NIPDB Project Investment Forum at the summit, Muetudhana said developers need to demonstrate commercial viability, identify and manage risks, address market and financing requirements and adequately account for environmental and social considerations.
“Project developers must be able to address the opportunity, why it is viable, what must be managed and what form of comfort should be required,” she said.
“They must also be willing to test their assumptions, listen carefully to the business and respond to critical issues in projects.”
Muetudhana said closer collaboration between project developers, public institutions, financiers and development partners will be needed to move projects from proposals to implementation.
“Let us allow projects not to remain presentations in our country. Let us turn presentations and proposals into conversations, conversations into investment, and investment into valuable national development outcomes,” she said.
