Namibia and Germany have partnered to launch a N$6 million green people’s energy project that seeks to provide low-income earners with affordable solar systems.
The project, which is being administered through the Ministry of Mines and Energy under the Solar Revolving Fund, aims to strengthen the renewable energy sector with a focus on promoting off grid electrification in rural areas.
Kornelia Shilunga, the Mines and Energy Deputy Minister, said low-income individuals will get maximum funding of up to N$20,000 interest free loans, while farmers will be financed up N$60,000 and traders at N$95,000 at 4% interest per annum.
Shilunga said out of 235,884 rural households, 35,855 households are connected to the grid, while 18,324 rural households have access to solar energy, giving a rural electrification rate estimation of 20%.
According to Namibia household national data, over 80% of rural households use wood for cooking, while over 50% of rural households use battery lamps, torches, or cellphones for lighting, with 10 percent using candles.
Households with access to renewable energy for cooking are less than 2% and about 7% for lighting.
During Harambee Prosperity Plan Two, Shilunga said the government and the Ministry of Mines and Energy in particular aim to electrify about 6,000 rural and 13,000 peri urban households.
“Therefore, this project aims to contribute towards achieving the energy goal of secure and cost-effective energy supply,” she said.
The Federal Republic of Germany through GIZ provided Namibia with financial assistance to the tune of N$6 million (EUR 330,000.00) to the Solar Revolving Fund. The Solar Revolving Fund was set up by the government to stimulate demand for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in off-grid areas, especially for communities living in rural areas.
It is an element of the Off-Grid Energisation Master Plan for Namibia (OGEMP), geared towards providing access to suitable renewable energy technologies in off-grid areas.for the Green People’s Energy project.
The Fund offers subsidized loans to Namibian citizens at an interest rate of five percent per annum over five years. Renewable energy technologies that are financed through the Solar Revolving Fund in all 14 regions include Solar Home Systems, Photo-Voltaic Water Pumps and Solar Water Heaters (SWH).
The Green People’s Energy new funding window targets a different range of beneficiaries such as low-income individuals, rural micro enterprises and business owners that range from retail shops, bakeries, tailors, carpentry and Farmers such as poultry, crop farming and other farming activities.
The new funding window business model is premised on the assumptions that renewable energy’s financing impact will be greatest in the rural communities, thus reducing the economic income disparities pertaining to access to services and household income.
