Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US based Green Technology Africa Inc. (GTA) for the generation of 300 Megawatts of electricity from solar energy.
GTA’s CEO, Dereje Mesfin, commented on the development saying the MoU dictates the American based firm will deliver the 300 megawatts of solar generated photovoltaic system as a turnkey project in areas such as Dire Dawa, Kombolcha and Desse.
It was about a year ago, the proposal to generate 300 megawatts of solar power put on the table of Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy.
GTA finished the pre-feasibility study for the implementation of the project and the just concluded agreement will give GTA the ability to start a full and complete feasibility study on specific areas. The firm is also going to set up a shop in Ethiopia within six months.
According to the MoU, the project is estimated to be worth U.S. $ 600 Million. As to the finance, Dereje Mesfin noted; “We are planning to find and facilitate the finance from various sources mainly from President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative and transfer it to the government of Ethiopia and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) will approve the finance once we find the finance from various sources”.
Dereje added, “In addition to generating 300 MW of renewable energy that will fill in the gap of energy supply deficiency in Ethiopia, GTA will also help create jobs and offer global expertise that will increase the “know-how” in green energy for local experts”.
The project is going to be owned by the Ethiopian government and GTA’s role is going to be undertaking the overall activities of the project, the CEO furthered. Nonetheless, issues of managing the project have not yet been decided by EEP.
The CEO furthered on this saying, “If they have the qualified professionals to manage and administer the project after its completion we will hand over the project, if not we will also engage in the management”.
Issues of finance and overall duration of the project will be determined in six months time, Dereje explained. In six months time, the CEO expects, to see a contract being signed which will determine the overall duration of the project.
According to The Reporter, GTA renders services such as engineering consulting and management services for transmission, distribution, industrial and generation. In addition to this, the US based firm is also engaged in evaluating the transmission grid deliverability, applying for interconnection, and coordinating design, engineering, procurement of renewable generation facilities.
Source: The Reporter
