Ethiopia has awarded a contract for solar energy projects with a combined generation capacity of 300 MW to US company Global Trade & Development Consulting (GTDC) and its partner, Energy Ventures, as part of efforts to accelerate investments in energy generation projects.
GTDC and Energy Ventures will build, operate and transfer three 100 MW solar sites in the east of the country. The site selection, due diligence and feasibility study for the project were completed earlier this year.
“This project represents a significant advance in our energy initiative and is now part of our comprehensive energy plan,” says Water and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu.
The solar energy plants form part of US President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative, to which the US government has committed $7-billion to add more than 10 000 MW of clean electricity in six sub-Saharan African countries.
A study by Chinese company Hydrochina Corporation estimates Ethiopia’s solar power potential at two-trillion megawatt hours, with the northern part of the country having the greatest potential. Currently, the country has exploited less than 1% of the solar energy potential.
According to GTDC CEO Dr Yonnas Kefle, months of analysing the potential for a large-scale solar project in Ethiopia has shown that the country has some of the highest solar irradiance factors in Africa.
“The power that this project will deliver will clearly have a dramatic effect on mil- lions of Ethiopian people’s quality of life,” he says.
Ethiopia is on a mission to increase electricity generation from 2 000 MW to 10 000 MW.