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| Africa Horn | |
| Ethiopia Plans to Power East Africa with Hydro | |
| 2013-03-11 | |
| Significant because Egypt has threatened war if Ethiopia builds dams that reduce the flow of the Nile. While these dams are initially for Hydro, irrigation will certainly follow. Ethiopia is gearing up to export large amounts of clean power across East Africa in the coming years, starting with neighbouring countries Djibouti and Sudan. But the ambitious plans have ignited controversy on several fronts. Ethiopia wants to increase its electricity exports - mainly generated from hydropower - as a reliable source of precious hard currency. It is estimated to possess a potential capacity of 45,000 MW from hydro alone, which could place it at the centre of an emerging electricity network across the region, driven largely by renewable energy. The Eastern Africa Power Pool aims to connect the power grids of at least nine countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Djibouti. It may also be extended to northern and southern Africa. State-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) last year announced a revised 25-year power-sector strategy, aiming to boost generating capacity to 37,000 MW annually by 2037. A substantial amount is intended to be surplus power and is slated for export. Work is already underway to achieve this goal. The 283-km Ethiopia-Djibouti transmission line was officially inaugurated in October 2011. The 230-kV line, enabling Djibouti to import up to 60 MW of electricity, is estimated to be earning Ethiopia at least $1.5 million per month, and has eased Djibouti's reliance on fossil-fuel power plants and generators.
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| Posted by:phil_b |
| #2 Aethiops Spelled eet rong. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-03-11 16:39 |
| #1 The Islamics will bomb it, on general Principles. There's SOME reason it's against Allah. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-03-11 12:51 |