Business
Ethiopia on track to becoming East Africa’s biggest exporter of renewable energy
A surge in the use of reliable renewable energy could both provide employment for Ethiopia’s large number of young people through small renewable energy businesses and protect the environment, Teklu said.
Ethiopia says in its latest Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) that by 2020 it aims to reach 15,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity, including 1,500 MW from wind energy, 11,000 MW from hydropower, 1,200 MW from geothermal, 300 MW from solar and 600 MW from co-generation.
Currently it has an installed electrical capacity of more than 2,200 megawatts. The Democratic Republic of Congo also has significant hydropower potential in the region, but that country’s political instability and weak infrastructure has meant that Ethiopia is the regional leader in exporting electricity.
In March, the leaders of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan signed a “declaration of principles” on the use of the Blue Nile – the Nile’s main tributary – for a US$4.7 billion, 6,000 MW hydropower project Ethiopia is constructing on the river, near the Sudanese border.
The principles call for sharing of data and commit Ethiopia to working to avoid harm from potential changes in water flows to Egypt and Sudan. It also gives first rights to electricity exports from the hydropower plant to those two countries.
Egypt and Sudan, depend heavily on the water of river Nile for drinking water, agriculture and industries, and plans to dam the river for power have been hugely controversial.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt said at the March signing that the dam remains “a source of concern and worry” for Egypt.
But Teklu said that with both Egypt and Sudan facing electricity shortages, exports from Ethiopia could help both nations achieve their development needs more cleanly, while reducing potential future political flashpoints.
“If 12 of us members of EAPP sit down and agree on fair distribution of electricity needs it can support and compliment each country’s development initiative, contribute to regional unity” he said. “Energy integration has happened before in the European Union, different states of the United States and parts of Asia, so there is no reason EAPP’s goals cannot be met while addressing climate concerns,” Teklu said.
Source: Reuters
