Ethiopia is planning to become the hub of renewable clean energy in Africa by harnessing the power of mother nature like wind and geothermal energy.

 

Recently, Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic company that’s helped build power plants in more than 30 countries, agreed to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of projects in Ethiopia over the next 10 years.

 

The company expects to spend a total of $4 billion and will begin drilling test wells early next year, Chairman Michael Philipp said. About 10 megawatts will be in operation by 2015, with a total of 500 megawatts by 2018. A second phase may include as much as 500 additional megawatts of capacity. Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. has agreed to buy all the electricity under a 25-year contract.

 

Ashegoda Wind-Farm Project

 

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) has inaugurated the Ashegoda Wind-Farm, the largest wind-farm in Africa, on Saturday 26th October 2013. Ashegoda has a capacity of 120MW and will produce about 400 million KWh a year.

Currently Ethiopia produces 2060 megawatt of electricity from hydro, diesel and geo thermal plants.

 

(See BBC News video)