Sores-Gaib Solar SADC cross-border
High confidence construction Last researched: 2026-06-26
| Capacity | 100 MWac / ~130.0 MWdc (DC estimated from AC) |
|---|---|
| Location | //Kharas (~33 km NW of Rosh Pinah), Namibia Sources give only '33 km NW of Rosh Pinah, //Kharas (Karas) Region, Orange River Constituency'. No published coordinate; descriptor too coarse for an accurate pin, so lat/lng left null. Approximate area is roughly -27.7, 16.6 but not confirmed - not recorded to avoid a wrong pin. |
| Developer | NamPower (Namibia Power Corporation) (nampower.com.na · LinkedIn) |
| Owner / equity | NamPower (Namibia Power Corporation (Pty) Ltd) |
| EPC / contractor | Joint venture: China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co. Ltd (CJIC) and Zhejiang Chint New Energy Development Co. Ltd / China New Energy Development (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd |
| Offtaker | NamPower / Namibian national grid (utility self-build; all output feeds directly into the national grid) |
| Regulatory route | utility self-build (NamPower-owned state utility project; KfW concessional loan + NamPower equity) |
| Key dates | Construction start: 2025-06; Commissioning / COD: 2026 |
We are still confirming the following for this site:
- Exact site coordinates (lat/long) for map placement
- DC nameplate capacity (MWdc), separate from the AC figure
- Soil / geotechnical conditions (pile-refusal risk)
- Site decision-maker contacts (needs Apollo upgrade or Clay)
Sources
- https://africa-energy-portal.org/news/nampower-break-ground-100mw-sores-gaib-solar-plant (2026-06-26)
- NamPower official Projects page - Sores |Gaib Power Station (2025)
- Africa Energy Portal - NamPower to break ground on 100MW Sores-Gaib (2025-06)
- allAfrica - Nampower breaks ground for biggest solar plant, N$1.8bn, 18 months (names CJIC + Zhejiang Chint JV) (2025-06-25)
- pv magazine - Namibia starts building 100 MW solar project (2025-06-23)
- Ecofin Agency - Construction officially begins on Sores |Gaib (2025-06)
- Namibia Economist - NamPower officially begins construction (2025-06)
Research notes
N$1.8bn. Groundbreaking 19 June 2025; ~18-month build; COD targeted Q2 2026. NamPower-owned, distinct from MSB private-wheeling route. Single-source. CONFIRMED EXISTS - strong multi-source corroboration (NamPower official site + pv-magazine + allAfrica + Ecofin + Namibia Economist + Africa Energy Portal). Project = Sores |Gaib ("Power of the Sun" in Khoekhoegowab) Power Station, 33 km NW of Rosh Pinah, //Kharas (Karas) Region, Orange River Constituency. Namibia's largest solar PV plant; will lift solar to ~1/3 of national capacity. ~270 GWh/yr, ~70,000 households, ~230,000 t CO2/yr avoided. Over 300 construction jobs; EPC committed 25% local content (~N$356m). CAPACITY: All sources agree 100 MW. This is the AC nameplate. NO source publishes a separate DC/MWp figure - mw_dc left null (do NOT infer). No conflict on the MW number itself. COST CONFLICT: Reported cost varies. NamPower official page + pv-magazine + most press: N$1.6 billion (~US$88m). allAfrica headline and the seed note say N$1.8 billion. etangonam cited N$1.6bn. Seed hint of "N$1.8bn" is therefore on the higher end; N$1.6bn is the more widely/officially cited figure. Funding = ~80% KfW (German dev bank) concessional loan (~US$73m / figures cited as N$1.3bn loan) + NamPower own funds. COMMISSIONING DATE CONFLICT (flagged): NamPower's own Projects page states planned commissioning Q4 2026. Press (pv-magazine, Africa Energy Portal, seed) state Q2 2026 / June 2026. Construction expected ~18 months from June 2025 groundbreaking, which is more consistent with late-2026 (Q4) than mid-2026. Recorded commissioning as 2026 (year) given the within-year conflict. EPC: Confirmed JV of CJIC (China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co. Ltd) + Zhejiang Chint New Energy Development Co. Ltd (a.k.a. China New Energy Development (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd). EPC contract signed Sept 2024 (some sources cite award 4 July 2024); groundbreaking 19 June 2025. BESS: No battery currently in scope. NamPower states the plant is designed/built 'battery energy storage ready' for possible future BESS addition - so storage MW/MWh = null. REGULATORY ROUTE: Utility self-build - NamPower (state utility) owns and develops; output feeds directly into the national grid easing import reliance. Not REIPPPP (that is a South African programme) and not a private/IPP wheeling deal. Offtake is effectively NamPower itself / the Namibian grid. GEO: No published coordinates; only '33 km NW of Rosh Pinah'. Left lat/lng null to avoid a wrong pin. SEED ASSESSMENT: developer=NamPower CONFIRMED; status=construction CONFIRMED; AC=100MW CONFIRMED; DC blank correct (unpublished); prior_confidence medium can be raised to HIGH. Seed cost N$1.8bn is contestable (official N$1.6bn). Seed COD Q2 2026 conflicts with NamPower's own Q4 2026. VERIFY: ADVERSARIAL CHECK PASSED (2026-06-26). Independently corroborated existence, 100 MW (AC) capacity, NamPower developer/owner, and CJIC + Zhejiang Chint EPC JV across pv-magazine, Africa Energy Portal, Ecofin, SolarQuarter, ESI-Africa, Southern African Times and NamPower's own Projects page. Status=construction confirmed (groundbreaking 19 June 2025). mw_dc left null is CORRECT — no source publishes a DC/MWp figure; do not infer. geo lat/lng null is CORRECT — no published coordinates, only '33 km NW of Rosh Pinah'. Two UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS preserved: (1) cost N$1.6bn (official/most press) vs seed N$1.8bn — N$1.6bn is the more authoritative figure; (2) commissioning Q4 2026 (NamPower official page) vs Q2/June 2026 (press + seed) — overlay correctly records year-only '2026'. No fields refuted; nulls are honest gaps, not wrong assertions. Confidence raised from medium to HIGH on the core facts; date/cost remain flagged. CONFLICTS: COST: official NamPower + pv-magazine + most press cite N$1.6bn (~US$88m); seed note and allAfrica headline say N$1.8bn. The widely/officially cited figure is N$1.6bn. Cost is not a published overlay field (overlay leaves it out), but the seed's N$1.8bn is contestable. ; COMMISSIONING DATE: NamPower's own Projects page states Q4 2026; press (pv-magazine, Africa Energy Portal, seed) say Q2 2026 / June 2026. ~18-month build from June 2025 groundbreaking is more consistent with late-2026. Overlay correctly records only year '2026' rather than a quarter — conflict unresolved but handled conservatively. ; mw_dc: no source publishes a DC/MWp figure; '100 MW' is treated as AC nameplate. Not a conflict, but mw_dc is asserted-as-null (unpublished) — acceptable, do NOT infer. ; geo: no published coordinates anywhere; only '33 km NW of Rosh Pinah'. lat/lng correctly left null; the ~-27.7,16.6 area note is explicitly flagged as approximate/unconfirmed. ; storage/tracker: null; plant is only 'BESS-ready', no battery in scope — consistent across sources.
Bidding or building this site? A 12-week rig import lead-time can sink a programme. Drillbuilders has JCS500 solar piling rigs in stock now in Mokopane — no import wait.
Reserve a JCS500 for the Sores-Gaib Solar programme JCS500 full specs →Planning intel compiled from open-source data — not a tender document. Suggest a correction or add missing info →