Ethiopia: Utilizing Solar and Wind Power Energy

The old all you can eat buffet technology and careless consumption is now going on a diet. The financial disaster of the past couple of years have taught many people to live with in their means of income. Companies and individuals are trying to find out ways to cut their expenses and save money. As a result, many entrepreneurs are coming up with great green solutions. Out of the many green solutions, I am most interested in are the following:

• Solar Power Energy
• Wind Power Energy, and
• Wave Power Energy

Solar and Wind Power Energies are abundantly available in Ethiopia and all over Africa. I believe that it is just a matter of time for the African countries to catch up with these technologies. Israel, Denmark and Germany are great example countries for innovative utilization of solar and wind energy.

Wave energy is too complicated and expensive for even developed countries like Canada to undertake.

No wonder that I was excited when I read that Ethiopia was working on a Wind Power Energy project.

State electricity company Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is considering an ambitious proposal for the construction of a 300 MW wind farm in eastern Ethiopia near the Djibouti border.

The Ayisha Wind Power Project is a planned joint venture of foreign and Ethiopian companies led by Dr Peer Ederer of Germany, director of the Human Capital Center at the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, and scientific director of the European Food and Agribusiness Seminar. It has an estimated cost of $600 million, to be covered by a combination of funding from the African Development Bank and private capital.

The idea is to use local skills and resources as much as possible and to this end three local Ethiopian firms and engineering students at Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Adama and Addis Ababa universities are expected to participate in the technical and technological aspects of the project.

If it goes as planned, the wind farm could be developed within three years and Ederer says, “there are also plans to establish a wind turbine production industry in Ethiopia under the auspices of the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ)”.

EEPCo is currently developing a 120 MW wind power project in the Ashegoda area in the northern Tigray state and has plans for other smaller projects in other parts of the country.

Until now, Ethiopia has relied on hydropower to meet its energy needs but following a rapid increase in demand in recent years this has proved to be inadequate.

Do you have any favoured green technology? Is there any green technology you can take with you to Africa? Share with us.

My next blog entry will be on Thursday August 19, 2010.

Mullkam Samint!