Ethiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project

Renewable energy giants Siemens Gamesa have leased with the Ethiopian electricity power company to implement the Asela wind farm project in Ethiopia.

The global wind power suppliers are keen to consolidate their status in Africa as leaders in the energy field and have expressed their delight with the collaboration. CEO for onshore Europe and Africa at Siemens Gamesa, Roberto Cebalza asserted the company’s delight at the opportunity presented by the Asela wind farms to aid the continent’s transcendently to green energy.

He expressed the onshore wind power suppliers eagerness to work in tandem with the Ethiopian nation and the Ethiopian electricity power on its first ever wind farm project in the country. The loan agreement between the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation and Danske Bank was approved by the Ethiopian parliament in September 2020. The approval paves the way for the start of construction works on the project.

The total investment on the Isaula Wind Farm project is estimated to be approximately 170 point five million dollars. Siemens Gamesa is responsible for the complete procurement, engineering and construction operations.

Siemens Gamesa pledged the installation of 29 SG 3.4 to 132 wind turbines to the Asela farm set to be inaugurated by the start of the year 2023.

The 100 megawatts capacity wind farm will be located in the region between Asela and Adama, about 150 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The project will be a massive boost to the nation’s lofty demands to satiate 100 percent of its domestic energy using renewable energy. Forecasted to generate 300000-megawatt hour annually. The project will foster stability, reliability, and accessibility of power to the national grid.

The ASela wind farms will also contribute immensely to clean energy by neutralizing over 260000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Denmark’s main bank, Danske Bank, has availed 142 million dollars in a loan agreement as funds for the completion of the ASela one wind farm project.

The government of Denmark’s Donita Business Fund for developing countries has also provided 33.3 million dollars as grants for the aforementioned project due to its impressive tendency to offset carbon dioxide emissions. The Asela Wind Farms has attracted a string of investors, most notable being the African Development Bank, which has deployed 12 million dollars for the development of facilities substation.

Ethiopia, meanwhile, will look to capitalize on the chance of this union presence so as to facilitate its goal to supply 100 percent of its household energy demand using renewable resources by 2030. The National Electrification Program proposes a draft, which indicates the country’s intent to achieve universal power accessibility using off-grid energy solutions to satiate 35 percent of its population by the year 2025.

Blessed with a magnitude of renewable resources which slashes across the wind, biomass, solar and geothermal. The ambitious nation is driven to become a leading power pivot from within the Horn of Africa.

Wind power potential in the nation is particularly impressive, according to the African Bank of Development. Ethiopia has an available installation capacity of 10 gigawatts, with about 324 megawatts already employed. The implementation of the Adama and Ashengode wind plants, which contribute 102 megawatts and 120 megawatts, respectively. This emphasizes the nation’s remarkable efforts towards energy sustainability.

The Asela one wind power farms Caterpillar Ethiopia closer to its optimum wind power installation capacity and complements the accelerated pace of industrialization in the country. It is therefore imperative to focus all efforts and resources to foster a positive relationship between all parties involved to ensure the successful completion of the Asela one wind farm project.

Phase two of the project is the plan to sell it to a wind farm, which involves the construction of a 150 megawatts wind farm, as well as a transformer station in connection to the high voltage transmission line.

The project will supply approximately 450-gigawatt hours of electricity to Ethiopia’s national grid annually. The Donita Sustainable Infrastructure Finance received a request from the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance for financing the project in November 2019. The estimated investment in the project will be approximately 269 million dollars.

The project is planned to be constructed on a site adjacent to the approved Asela one wind farm between July 2023 and June 2025 P.M Consult, a Denmark based consultancy firm, is responsible for preparing a concept for a feasibility study for the Asela Wind Farm project. The feasibility study is expected to be conducted this year.

Source China TV