A consortium that includes General Electric, a US based company, is going to undertake the wind farm project at Aysha, Somali regional state.
The consortium that delivered its study for the development of 310mw of electric power from wind is expected to bring a detailed proposal.
According to sources, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has approved the consortium’s feasibility study to generate electricity in the area.
“EEP is now waiting for the technical and financial proposal of the consortium for final negotiation,” sources said.
Lafto Turbine Technologies plc, a German based company, plans to develop 120mw of electric power from wind on a similar location at Aysha.
The new design undertaken by GE shows that the area has the potential of generating 310mw of electric power at the location expected to be developed by Lafto, according to experts. According to studies, Aysah is a major wind power source in the country, although it has yet to be developed.
The area has a potential of generating 10,000mw electric power from wind. The country also has a capacity to generate over one million megawatts of electricity from wind power. GE is currently working with EEP on capacity building trainings for local staff, according to sources.
The private sector interest is now growing to get involved in the power sector. This will expand the opportunity to select the perfect and genuine private sector company.
The interest of the government has also grown to include the private sector as they seek to export power regionally.
In the coming quarter of a century the power sector (generation, substation and transmission) investment demands USD 177 billion or USD four billion every year. The distribution investment is not included in this figure.
The private sector is expected to foot the bill for most of these endeavors. In the next 25 years, 27,000mw power generators, 19,000km transmission lines, and more than 300 new substations are slated for construction.
In the coming five year plan (GTP II) the power sector target would be 15,000mw and the investment demand will be USD four billion per year.
In the GTP II several investments will be expected. Experts said the EEP has targeted to shrink the hard currency demand from the current amount. “In the coming GTP the local currency investment would be at least 40 percent of the total investment in the power sector,” Mekuria Lemma, head of Strategy and Investment Division at the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) explained during his presentation on the Powering Africa event held in November last year.
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