…emphasises the importance of mutually beneficial deals
Mines and Energy minister, Tom Alweendo has told potential Green Hydrogen (GH2) investors that while Namibia would be a committed partner, envisaged investments have to be mutually beneficial to both them as investors and Namibia as the host country.
Alweendo was speaking at the inaugural GH2 conference which concluded in Windhoek last week.
“To our potential investors in this new industry, I can confirm that in us you will find a serious and committed partner. We will do all what is necessary to ensure that we provide you with a conducive investment environment. We will be a partner you can rely on. We, however, will demand one thing from you. The envisaged investment has to be mutually beneficial to both you as an investor and us as your host country. And to the extent possible, we will demand that your investment takes the issue of local content seriously,” he said.
Alweendo went on to highlight that Namibia’s ambition is to become a continental GH2 hub.
“…And this is possible primarily because of the world-class solar and wind resources. We also have more than enough land where GH2 assets can be built. Having great solar and wind resources are certainly necessary. However, these might not be sufficient for us to reach our goal of becoming a continental GH2 hub. You need other ingredients. We need to be aware of some of the risks that need to be mitigated.
“For example, global collaboration is very important. GH2 is the energy of the future that will be demanded globally. Anything that is demanded globally, will need global collaboration. Think about things like the standards and the regulations. You need to have a globally accepted standard of what GH2 is; and this can only be achieved when you have a meaningful global collaboration. It is through collaboration and not competition, especially at this early stage, that we will create a sustainable global GH2 industry,” he said adding that this is why since last year, government has been seeking collaboration with other nations.
“As a result, we were able to officially collaborate with countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the EU. Here I would like to especially single out the German government for the significant financial contribution they have made to our vision of becoming a GH2 hub.
“It is also the case that for us to reach our vision, we need real investments. Given the fact that GH2 is a relatively new industry, we may find that private capital might be a little bit hesitant. Here again for us to galvanize private capital, we need global collaboration that will have the effect of providing a conducive investment environment. We need the global DFIs to come up with innovative investment instruments that will assist in de-risking private capital.
“So far so good – we are on our way to achieve our vision of a GH2 hub and thereby contributing to addressing climate change. However, I think there is an elephant in the room and this big elephant goes like this: is there no a contradiction when Namibia embraces both fossil fuel and renewable energy. Are we not supposed to heed the call for the energy transition?,” further explained Alweendo.
He went on to say that recognizing the inevitability of the energy transition, government understands and accepts that fossil fuel may no longer be the fuel of the future and that the world is transitioning to renewable energy.
“We are, however, also calling for an energy transition that is just and equitable among nations. We therefore need to guard against an energy transition process that has the potential to adversely affect some without any mitigation. It is the case that countries that are highly dependent on fossil fuel for their socio-economic development, may need a little more time to transition than countries that have already made an inroad into the renewable energy space. Let us also remember that in Namibia, just like in many African countries, our biggest challenge is energy poverty. For that reason, our focus is more to provide livelihood to the country’s growing population,” Alweendo said.