Power Supplier Looks to Consultants For Solar Project

Jun 30 , 2024


Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) is seeking consultants for a 10-month feasibility study on the Utility Scale Weranso Solar PV Project, including hydrology, geotechnical, seismic, and solar resource assessments. This project in Afar Regional State is part of the government's expanded scaling solar program, which aims to boost capacity from 4 to 6 projects totalling up to 750MW. It was first announced four years ago but failed to take off due to conflict and a shortage of financing until the African Development Bank allotted funds a few months ago. Ethiopia has abundant renewable energy resources and has the potential to generate over 60,000 megawatts (MW) of electric power, while current output reaches less than 60pc of the country’s population Despite its energy deficit, Ethiopia exports electricity to Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya to generate foreign exchange. However, success in solar projects has been mixed with several projects under a Public-Private-Partnership format failing to see the light of day. A 795 million dollar project in three regional states six years ago through the Finance Minstry has failed to atrract international attention.


Radar

Coffee Exports Bring in 1.5B Br in Third Quarter

Ethiopia has earned 1.5 billion dollars from coffee exports over the nine months of the fiscal year. The country had set a target to earn a little over a billion dollars by exporting 201,959tns of coffee during the same period. According to Adugna Debella (PhD), director general of the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority, the export strategy continues to focus on major international markets, with the top 10 destinations, including Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the United States (SU), accounting...


Radar

Central Bank Holds Fourth Exchange Auction

The National Bank of Ethiopia(NBE) sold one dollar for 131.4961 birr in its recent auction. It was reported that 26 banks participated in this auction, which took place last week on Thursday. In a statement issued by the National Bank  following the auction, it was indicated that 70 million dollars was offered for the event. Subsequently, it was reported that 96 pc of the foreign exchange needs of the participating banks were met. In the previous auction, held 15 days ago, the bank had of...


Radar

City Registers 64,075 Births in Fiscal Year

The city has exceeded its birth registration target for the first nine months of the fiscal year, registering 64,075 children—71.15pc more than the set goal of 58,342. This success, with a registration coverage rate of 109.63pc, is largely attributed to the efficiency of the one-centre birth registration service system, which has been rolled out across health centres and courts. The total number of vital events registered, including births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths, reache...