BY TSEGAYE TILAHUN
Ethiopia is endowed with plentiful renewable energy resources including hydro power, wind, geothermal, solar and biomass, among others. The country has the potential to generate over 60,000MW of electric power from these sources. Currently, only small portion of the potential is harnessed since the country power demand has been increasing fast. Proper utilization of these renewable resources would enable the country to achieve its nationwide green economy development as well as electrification mission.
The country’s renewable energy sector is still in its infancy stage. The majority of Ethiopia population lives in the rural area without access to modern energy and relied solely on traditional biomass energy sources.
According to documents, Ethiopia is one of the lowest electricity consumption per capita in Africa. Energy access and security are a crucial factor to economic growth that Ethiopia needs to cope with key challenges related to energy security and diversification of energy supply.
Recently, the 26th Summit of the United Nations Framework on climate change (COP) was held by Webinar. The energy Ministers of the member countries including the Secretary-General of Antonio Guterres attended the meeting. During the occasion, Dr.Eng.Sileshi Bekele said that Ethiopia has been implementing a green economy strategy that can withstand climate change to enable to resist the negative effects of climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
According to Sileshi, the country has been developing its renewable energy resources responsibly, despite developing clean and renewable energy needs high cost. Currently, a total of 8370 MWs of renewable energy project is under implementation by government and private sector.
Ethiopia needs the support of development partners to ensure the energy sector reform to enable to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals by to supply accessible, reliable, sustainable and modern energy to all citizens, he said.
According to Africa’s power journal, Ethiopia’s National Electrification programme aims to provide at least 35 percent of the population with energy from renewable sources by 2024. As part of it, 100MW wind farm to power more than 400,000 Ethiopian households. Siemens Gamesa has sealed the deal on its first wind farm project in Assela.
The 100MW wind farm will help to power more than 400,000 Ethiopian households. The wind farm should be commissioned by 2023 and is set to save the country more than 260,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.
Roberto Sabalza, CEO for onshore Southern Europe and Africa at Siemens Gamesa said that Siemens Gamesa is intent on expanding its leadership across Africa and in turn will help a growing transition to green energy across the continent. So, we are extremely pleased to begin work in Ethiopia and look forward to collaborating with both EEP and the country to continue to promote their drive to install more renewable and meet transformational energy targets.
It is stated that the Assela wind project will be financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Danida Business Finance, adding to a loan agreement signed between the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Danske Bank A/S.
The 100MW Assela wind farm will be located between the towns of Adama and Assela, about 150 km south of the capital Addis Ababa. The country has set an ambitious target to supply 100 percent of domestic energy demand through renewable energy by 2030. Ethiopia’s National Electrification Programme aimed to reach universal access by 2024, with the help of off-grid solutions for 35 percent of the population.
As to documents, Ethiopia has abundant renewable energy resources with a potential 10GW of wind installation capacity. The Assela wind farm will contribute to clean and affordable power for the country’s electricity grid.
Ethiopia has many renewable resources covering wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, and the country aspires to be a power hub and the battery for the Horn of Africa. To date, the country has installed 3 wind farms with a capacity of 324MW. The Assela wind farm will be the country’s fifth wind farm, following Adama wind farm 1, Ashegoda wind farm, Adama wind farm 2 and the currently in development Aysha wind farm.
Ethiopia has managed to power only 25 percent of its population with electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. More than 50 million people lack access to energy.
The government has prioritized universal access to electricity and aims to reach 100 percent electrification by 2025, with 35 percent of the population utilizing off-grid energy solutions and the other 65 percent of the country connected to the grid.
The future of Ethiopia depends on renewable energy resources as the country is rich in sources of renewable energy. If the country takes the advantage of these renewable resources, it can help to build a sustainable energy. The government has launched ambitious plan to speed up the energy transition and support the construction of plants that use the country’s abundant renewable resources to diversify Ethiopian energy generation.
Even if Ethiopia is the fourth country, after Madagascar, Zambia and Senegal, to opt for scaling solar energy, the country is still has been experiencing energy deficit. As, a result, 60 million population don’t have access to electricity.
Access to clean energy is the key to the development of the country as well in Africa, securing and sustaining renewable resources in energy sector are the solutions for those challenges. The cost competitiveness, the availability of resources and the fast time to market of green technologies can contribute to the spread of energy sustainable in Ethiopia.
Access to energy is among the key elements for the economic and social developments of the country. The energy sector in Ethiopia can be generally categorized in to two major components: traditional and modern (traditional biomass usage and modern fuels that electricity and petroleum). As more than 80 percent of the country’s population is engaged in the small-scale agricultural sector and live in rural areas, traditional energy sources represent the principal sources of Energy. Domestic energy requirements in rural and urban areas are mostly met from wood, animal dung and agricultural residues.
Ethiopia is committed to speed up its journey toward sustainable development and overcome the many contradictions in energy sector
The Ethiopian Herald 16 January 2021
