Siemens Gamesa has signed an agreement to supply 29 turbines of the SG 3.4-132 variety to the state-owned utility Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) for the 100 MW Assela project in Ethiopia. The project is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2023. The project will generate about 300,000 MWh per year.
Power generated by the wind farm is expected to meet the demand of over 400,000 Ethiopian households, while saving more than 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The wind farm will be located between the towns of Adama and Assela, approximately 150 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa.
African Development Bank has committed Euro 10 million for the construction of the substation that will allow the facility’s production to be evacuated. Additionally, Danske Bank, Denmark’s main bank, has agreed to lend 117.3 million euros for the implementation of this clean energy project. Further, the Danida Business Fund (DBF), a fund administered by the Investment Fund for Developing Countries on behalf of the government of Denmark will also provide a Euro 28.7 million grant for the project.
Ethiopia has a goal to meet the entirety of its domestic energy demand through renewable energy by 2030. According to the African Development Bank, Ethiopia has abundant resources, particularly wind with a potential 10 GW of installation capacity. It currently has an installed capacity of 324 MW. According to a Wood Mackenzie forecast, around 2 GW of wind power would be installed in Ethiopia by 2029. As per Ethiopia’s National Electrification Program launched in 2017, the country plans to reach universal access by 2025 with the help of off-grid solutions for 35 per cent of the population.