ETHIOPIA – United Arab Emirates based independent power producer (IPP) Masdar Clean Energy has obtained an approval from the Ethiopian government to produce 500 MWp of solar energy to be fed into the grid of the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar, which is expanding rapidly on the African continent, will develop, finance, and provide design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, insurance, operation, and maintenance of the solar photovoltaic plants.

The Emirati company will also build transmission infrastructure and feed the generated power into the national grid.

The energy firm plans to conclude a power purchase agreement (PPA) for all its solar power plants before the end of the year 2021.

Masdar will quickly start construction work on its solar plants for the start of commercial operations in 2022. 

“This initiative will be an important step in Ethiopia’s efforts to diversify its power mix and boost economic development” 

“This initiative will be an important step in Ethiopia’s efforts to diversify its power mix and boost economic development,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar’s chief executive officer.

With an installed capacity of 4,207 MWp, Ethiopia is 89% dependent on hydropower, although in recent years drought has reduced river flows and plant output.

The government of Ethiopia has taken the measure of the problem and is now engaged in a plan to diversify its electricity mix.

Under the World Bank’s “Scaling Solar” programme, the Saudi IPP Acwa Power has also obtained authorisation to develop the Gad and Dicheto solar projects with an expected capacity of 250 MWp which are being built in the Somali and Afar regions of eastern Ethiopia respectively.

At the same time, the Ethiopian government is working to exploit its geothermal potential, particularly in Corbetti and Tulu Moye.

In Assela, in the Oromia region, a windfarm is under construction that will feed 100 MW into the EEP grid in the coming months.

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