Genale Dawa III hydropower project, which is located in southeast Ethiopia 630Km from the capital, began pilot generation with one of the three turbines it had last Wednesday. The turbine is expected to start giving service by supplying power for the project site. Each turbine has an installation capacity of 84.7MW. Chinese Exim Bank has financed 60pc of the project, while the Ethiopian government covers the rest. The project has been delayed for five years due to the compensation issue, according to Moges Mekonnen, communications director of Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP). Once the dam becomes fully operational, it will have an installed capacity of 254MW power and will produce 1,640GWh annually. The dam is expected to be fully operational in January 2019. Currently, EEP operates and maintains more than 12 hydropower and three wind power plants. These plants generate 4,290MW of power. “The country's power demand increases by up to 13pc annually,” Moges said. The dam has the longest water passing cave in the country, which is 12.4Km long. The area also receives rainfall two times a year that gives the dam distinct advantages from the others. The dam is being constructed by a Chinese company named CGGC with the supervision of MWH, an American company.
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