Other partner in the consortium is Orchid Business Group, an Ethiopian infrastructure company. The tender was issued by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), a local electric utility.
The tender was conducted within the framework of the country’s Growth Transformation Plan (GTP 2), under which the country plans to collect about 12GW in renewable energy by partnering with private companies.
For the 100MW solar project, the Enel-led consortium is expected to invest at least $120m in the construction. The plant will be located in the Oromia region, about 200km east of Addis Ababa, the country’s capital.
The solar plant could come online and start operations in 2019. Once up and running, the plant will generate about 280GWh of clean electricity per year, while avoiding 296,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
EEP will buy all the electricity generated from the plant under a 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “Ethiopia has all the potential to become a key market for Enel’s strategy in Africa.
“The country has plenty of renewable sources that can generate energy at affordable rates thanks to modern green technologies. Additionally, Ethiopia boasts a stable regulatory framework, based on tenders and PPAs, and steady energy demand growth, which is also sustained by a long-term electrification plan."
Presently, Ethiopia has a total installed capacity of 4.3GW, out of which 90% comes from hydropower, 8% from wind and 1% from thermal sources. However, it is estimated that only about 27.2% of the country’s population of 102 million has access to electricity.
Image: Enel to construct 100MW solar plant in Ethiopia. Photo: Courtesy of khunaspix/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
