Ethiopia’s controversial Gilgel Gibe III hydropower dam is now feeding 800 MW into the national grid, following the recent switching on of the sixth of its ten turbines.
When completed, the $1.8-billion hydropower scheme will generate 1 870 MW. Completion was initially scheduled for June this year but has been delayed until March, says Ethiopia Energy Minister Wondimu Tekle.
The dam, the tallest in Africa at 787 ft, and with a storage capacity of 11.75-billion cubic metres, has suffered several delays since construction started in 2006, owing to opposition from environmentalists and difficulties in securing funding.
Tekle says a 400 kV transmission line that will evacuate power from Gibe III to the national grid has also been completed.
Gibe III is at the heart of the country’s ambitions to become a net exporter of electricity to the rest of the East African region. It is one of the five power plants along the Gibe cascade, on the Omo river, that the Ethiopian government is building.
When Gibe III is fully functional, Ethiopia will be able to export electricity to neighbouring countries, such as Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania.