NamPower confident in Nathaniel Maxuilili Power Plant’s future
NamPower is confident that the Nathaniel Maxuilili Power Plant (NMPP) will become a reality, "with or without NamPower aggregation," according to conclusions from the national power utility’s presentation earlier this month.
In July 2025, the Ariya Capital Group acquired a 45% stake in the NMPP project, joining Power Invest and FGK Investments as equity holders in the development, which was previously reported to be worth over N$14 billion. Ariya Capital Group CEO, Dr Herta van Stiegel, has dubbed it "Project Spark," calling it Namibia’s first 586MW gas-to-power plant.
She wrote that the plant, located near the port of Walvis Bay, will be fuelled by liquid natural gas (LNG) supplied by ship via the innovative Walvis GasPort simultaneous development. "Critically, gas turbines can also ramp up and down quickly, making them ideal companions for intermittent renewables. They provide crucial back-up during periods of low solar or wind output and help maintain grid frequency and voltage," her article in cfi.co explains.
Public hearing
On Monday, 8 December, the Electricity Control Board (ECB) will host a public hearing regarding NamPower’s proposal for the aggregation of power through Nathaniel Maxuilili, for regional exports. The meeting will begin at 08:30 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Windhoek, where further details can be obtained.
NamPower proposes using the NMPP and other Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to aggregate electricity for export to regional markets, primarily to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The exported electricity would flow through existing transmission interconnectors.
"It is imperative for NamPower to maintain national dispatch, planning, and control of significant supply and generation sources, for the benefit of the grid and to ensure security of supply," reads the conclusion of the presentation. The presentation is one of the background documents that the ECB makes available on its website in relation to the public meeting. A second attachment highlights the strategic benefits of synchronous power generation that the gas-to-power plant would facilitate, positioning Namibia as a balancing hub for SAPP. Exports of electricity could provide firm capacity to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and other regional players. Cross-border energy resilience would be enhanced, grid frequency and voltage stabilised, transmission usage optimised, and renewable energy integration accelerated, according to NamPower.
Since re-entering the energy market in June 2019, the project team has been able to update its independent power producer licence in December 2020 and secure approval for a new generation and export licence from the ECB in January 2022. Engineering redesign and technology selection were completed in October 2022. New off-takers from South Africa and Zambia were secured in July 2023, and power purchase agreement term sheets for over 700MW were concluded in February 2024, according to the project website at nmpowerplant.com.
The power plant itself will be located behind Dune 7 at Walvis Bay, in an area designated for heavy industrial development. State-of-the-art gas turbines will be used to produce power, which will be distributed to off-takers via a 220kV transmission connection and substation, according to the website. The NMPP is designed to be hydrogen-ready, allowing for a transition to hydrogen when it becomes competitively available, according to the developers.
According to van Stiegel, natural gas offers a compelling solution to Southern Africa’s wide-ranging energy challenges. Power plants using natural gas are scalable, modular, cost-efficient, produce around 50% less CO2 than coal, and can be deployed more quickly than nuclear or geothermal power.
Ariya Capital Group and their co-development partners expect to reach imminent financial close for Project Spark, she said in her article. Pairing renewables with transitional fuels like natural gas and investing in regional integration can create more resilient, scalable, and sustainable energy systems.
In July 2025, the Ariya Capital Group acquired a 45% stake in the NMPP project, joining Power Invest and FGK Investments as equity holders in the development, which was previously reported to be worth over N$14 billion. Ariya Capital Group CEO, Dr Herta van Stiegel, has dubbed it "Project Spark," calling it Namibia’s first 586MW gas-to-power plant.
She wrote that the plant, located near the port of Walvis Bay, will be fuelled by liquid natural gas (LNG) supplied by ship via the innovative Walvis GasPort simultaneous development. "Critically, gas turbines can also ramp up and down quickly, making them ideal companions for intermittent renewables. They provide crucial back-up during periods of low solar or wind output and help maintain grid frequency and voltage," her article in cfi.co explains.
Public hearing
On Monday, 8 December, the Electricity Control Board (ECB) will host a public hearing regarding NamPower’s proposal for the aggregation of power through Nathaniel Maxuilili, for regional exports. The meeting will begin at 08:30 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Windhoek, where further details can be obtained.
NamPower proposes using the NMPP and other Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to aggregate electricity for export to regional markets, primarily to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The exported electricity would flow through existing transmission interconnectors.
"It is imperative for NamPower to maintain national dispatch, planning, and control of significant supply and generation sources, for the benefit of the grid and to ensure security of supply," reads the conclusion of the presentation. The presentation is one of the background documents that the ECB makes available on its website in relation to the public meeting. A second attachment highlights the strategic benefits of synchronous power generation that the gas-to-power plant would facilitate, positioning Namibia as a balancing hub for SAPP. Exports of electricity could provide firm capacity to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and other regional players. Cross-border energy resilience would be enhanced, grid frequency and voltage stabilised, transmission usage optimised, and renewable energy integration accelerated, according to NamPower.
Since re-entering the energy market in June 2019, the project team has been able to update its independent power producer licence in December 2020 and secure approval for a new generation and export licence from the ECB in January 2022. Engineering redesign and technology selection were completed in October 2022. New off-takers from South Africa and Zambia were secured in July 2023, and power purchase agreement term sheets for over 700MW were concluded in February 2024, according to the project website at nmpowerplant.com.
The power plant itself will be located behind Dune 7 at Walvis Bay, in an area designated for heavy industrial development. State-of-the-art gas turbines will be used to produce power, which will be distributed to off-takers via a 220kV transmission connection and substation, according to the website. The NMPP is designed to be hydrogen-ready, allowing for a transition to hydrogen when it becomes competitively available, according to the developers.
According to van Stiegel, natural gas offers a compelling solution to Southern Africa’s wide-ranging energy challenges. Power plants using natural gas are scalable, modular, cost-efficient, produce around 50% less CO2 than coal, and can be deployed more quickly than nuclear or geothermal power.
Ariya Capital Group and their co-development partners expect to reach imminent financial close for Project Spark, she said in her article. Pairing renewables with transitional fuels like natural gas and investing in regional integration can create more resilient, scalable, and sustainable energy systems.
