Solarcentury Africa has announced the commercial operation of its 19.3 MWp Gerus solar PV plant in Namibia, marking an important step in the development of merchant renewable energy projects in Southern Africa.
The Gerus solar project is the first merchant solar plant in Namibia to sell electricity directly into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) network. It is also the second purpose-built merchant solar facility in Africa to trade power through SAPP, following Solarcentury Africa’s 25 MWp Mailo solar plant in Zambia.
Developed in partnership with Sino Energy (Pty) Limited, the Gerus project was completed within 12 months. The facility is wholly owned by Solarcentury Africa, while international funding of approximately USD 20 million was provided by BB Energy, the parent company of Solarcentury Africa. The investment is described as the largest UK investment in Namibia’s clean energy sector to date.
Electricity generated by the plant will be managed and sold by Solarcentury Trading, an official SAPP member. The project is expected to generate approximately 50.8 GWh of clean electricity annually. This output is sufficient to supply electricity to more than 14,000 Namibian homes and is expected to avoid around 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The project also contributed to local employment and skills development. More than 275 jobs were created during construction, with over 98% of these positions filled by Namibian workers. The project supported local training and skills transfer as part of its development.
Solarcentury Africa CEO Jason de Carteret highlighted the role of local partnerships and technical expertise in delivering the project. BB Energy Group CEO Mohamed Bassatne said cleaner energy is becoming an important part of the group’s strategy, with electricity trading expected to support future growth.
The project received support from Namibian partners including Alensy Energy Solutions, Sino Energy and Nexus, as well as NamPower and the Electricity Control Board of Namibia.
Solarcentury Africa plans to expand its merchant renewable energy portfolio and aims to develop and operate more than 320 MWp of fully merchant solar capacity by 2027.
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