Recurring climatic shocks that occur in various parts of our globe have already challenged the regard governments and energy experts attached with hydropower dams, whilst shifting to other clean energy sources.
For a country like Ethiopia which gives increasing attention to industrialization and toils to meet domestic energy demands, investing in clean and sustainable energy is not just an option but it is a must-do task. The agreements Ethiopia signed with Russia to develop 2,400-MW nuclear energy is nothing less than being “forewarned is forearmed”.
Particularly, the accord that the two sides inked in Sochi, presided over by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Russian President Vladimir Putin later in October this year, will usher our country in the new era of developing alternative clean energy source for peaceful purposes.
The move, when coming to fruition, maybe in the next few years, will diversify the energy sources and catalyze the country’s ambition to become the hub of light manufacturing industries in our region. Its impacts on lighting up the rural community that lives off the grid in this modern time can as well be immense.
The oldest relations of Ethiopia and Russia will undoubtedly be translated yet into a new frontier of cooperation with the coming to the reality of the nuclear project. Realizing the project will not be a bed of roses indeed, challenges of various sorts are imminent. But the cooperation of the two sides is sure to help overcome most, if not, all of the challenges.
Tasks ahead of Ethiopia involve signing the Vienna Convention on Nuclear Damage. Training Ethiopian experts on specific nuclear areas is also another important aspect. Respective government bodies of both sides and Ethiopian experts, along with their Russian counterparts, should accelerate the preliminary process sooner than later to breathe life into the agreement.
The Ethiopian Herald, December 27/2019
