In May 2020, the German consortium partners of the interdisciplinary PROCEED project signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Namibian state owned utility CENORED (Central North Regional Electricity Distributor). The MoU offers opportunities for all involved parties and represents an important milestone in the future development of the project.

CENORED is responsible for the operation of power plants in two of the selected municipalities and is consequently one of the most important local players in the field of renewable energies. Thanks to this new cooperation, the PROCEED team will therefore not only get first-hand local energy consumption data, but also valuable insights into the technical, economic and social challenges and opportunities of operating such hybrid systems. CENORED will therefore be closely involved in the further elaboration of the case studies in an advisory capacity and will support the scientists’ on-site research visits. 

The partnership is also attractive for CENORED, as the mutual transfer of knowledge offers new insights for both sides. CENORED has already made use of this opportunity, for example, by commissioning the consortium partner IBC SOLAR AG to organize a training course for CENORED employees on the challenges of off-grid photovoltaic systems. In addition, PROCEED will also strengthen the local network of Namibian energy stakeholders.

The close involvement of important local partners such as CENORED is also set to contribute significantly to the project’s sustained success. We in the PROCEED team are therefore very pleased to deepen the cooperation with CENORED in the coming years and to jointly develop PROCEED further.