Ethiopia Launches Wind Energy Roadmap

The government of Ethiopia in collaboration with the Danish Energy Agency has published a roadmap for the development of wind farms.

The Roadmap will enable the mobilization of private investments much needed in the area more realistic.

The roadmap covers spectrum of issues including site selection, grid and bankable data to power sales, financing, procurement policies as well as operation and maintenance.

The Roadmap launched at the Danish-Ethiopian Wind Farm Project Development Seminar held on Monday.

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Seleshi Bekele during the occasion said the government is initiating a series of actions towards transforming the power sector regulatory framework to involve private sector.

“The provision of adequate power supply, creation of a more resilient power system through diversification of the generation mix, regional power system integration and power trade as well as scaling up access of electricity to all,” he added.

He said there is a great need for concerted efforts to develop robust institutional, regulatory and legal frameworks, to achieve an attractive business environment.

Upgrading institutional arrangements in line with the Public-Private Partnership law will enable to have speedy and efficient delivery process to meet the ever-growing demand for electricity of the country.

“Wind power in the diversified energy mix will contribute to protect frequent droughts due to climate change that poses a strategic threat to our hydropower, which will continue to be the power system backbone for years to come,” he noted.

Danish Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mette Thygesen said the Roadmap will enable the mobilization of much needed private investments.

It aimed at providing an up-to-date, logically organized framework for prioritizing initiatives and procedures for developing and scaling up wind power in Ethiopia.

She noted that modern wind power is cost-effective energy source and can be installed in a short timeframe.

“Never lose sight of the ambitious aim of ensuring access to electricity for all Ethiopians by 2025 and to develop into a middle-income climate resilient green economy during the next decade,” she emphasized.

A preliminary study indicates that Ethiopia has a huge potential of wind energy which is estimated 1,000 GW much higher than the hydropower energy.