Geothermal, Hydropower to Fuel Ethiopia's 10% Growth Rate

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following steps taken by other countries along East Africa's Rift Valley, Ethiopia is targeting geothermal energy and hydropower to boost its power base--both for domestic electrification programs and for its ambition to become a major exporter of power to other African countries. In 2013, Ethiopia is set to achieve a GDP growth rate of about 10%, but it will need an expanding industrial base and power supply to maintain this high growth rate.

The two renewable energy sources are available on a large scale to Ethiopia, with an estimated 5,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal and 45,000 MW of hydropower potential. Ethiopia's hydropower potential is the second-largest in Africa after the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is set to tap the power of the mighty Congo River and its tributaries.

The Development Bank of Ethiopia has pledged $20 million to a geothermal drilling schedule, with an additional $20 million to be made available in the future. The development of sources of hydropower generation will take investments of some $13 billion over the next decade. There will be further investment needed to cover additional expenditure on the transmission and distribution infrastructure now being planned, which will be used for local electrification requirements and for power export lines.

For related information, see August 8, 2013, article - Kenya Targets 7,000 Megawatts of Geothermal Power by 2030.

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