State Utility to Undertake $20.1m Solar Project

Aug 28 , 2021


[ssba-buttons]

The state-owned Ethiopian Electric Utility is undertaking a 20.1 million dollar project to provide 25 towns access to solar-powered electric grids. Funded by a loan secured from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the project is hoped to reach over 145,000 households located in small towns in eight regional states, including Oromia, Afar, Somali and Amhara. The solar plants will generate a total of 8,000kw of electricity, and the project also entails the erection of 68.7Km of high voltage electric transmission lines and 233.3Km of low voltage lines. The project is expected to be completed in six months. Last year, a total of 12 solar power projects were initiated, eight of which are fully operational.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...