Masdar and Ethiopia sign 500MW solar agreement

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government to explore opportunities for developing solar energy projects with a total capacity of 500MW in the East African country

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government to explore opportunities for developing solar energy projects with a total capacity of 500MW in the East African country.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Masdar’s CEO Mohamed Jameel al-Ramahi at a ceremony in the Ethiopian prime minister’s office in Addis Ababa.

The MoU covers the development, financing, design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, insurance, ownership, operation, maintenance and transfer of photovoltaic (PV) solar plants and the required transmission and distribution infrastructure to support the projects.

The agreement sets out a timetable for signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) and other project agreements in 2021, with a target of the solar projects beginning commercial operations as early as 2022.

"This initiative will mark a significant step forward for Ethiopia’s efforts to diversify its energy mix and to drive economic development," said al-Ramahi. "Masdar has been a catalyst for renewable energy and clean-tech innovation in more than 30 countries around the world, and we look forward to working with the government of Ethiopia to help deliver universal access to electricity for all its people."

While Ethiopia’s grid is almost wholly supplied by clean energy sources, hydropower accounts for the vast majority of this. With more than half of the country’s population still lacking direct access to electricity, solar energy is planned to play a key part in meeting the growing demand for power.

In December 2019, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power signed PPAs for two 125MW PV solar independent power producer (IPP) projects in Ethiopia.

Acwa Power signed the 20-year PPAs with the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) on 22 December 2019 for a tariff of $2.526cents a kilowatt hour (kWh).

The combined 250MW plants are expected to provide power for 750,000 homes in Ethiopia, offsetting 32,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The plants will be located in Dicheto and Gad, located in the Afar and Somali regions respectively.

https://energy-utilities.com/acwa-power-signs-agreements-for-ethiopia-solar-news081381.html