The Ashegoda Wind Farm will be completed by the middle of 2013 announced the Vergnet Groupe, the French company handling the construction of the first Ethiopian wind farm.
The project expected to produce 120 Mega Watts when completed is primarily being financed largely by the French Development Agency and French financier BNP Paribas. It is estimated that the project will cost 200 million Euros up to completion.
It is to be remembered that Vergnet secured the Engineering Procurement Commissioning contract for the Ashegoda project from the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation four years ago.
The project consists of 30 one Mega watt wind turbines and 54 1.6 Mega watt turbines, connected by a large sub-station which will connect the wind farm to the national grid over high voltage lines. The substation was completed and handed over to EEPCO this last April.Vergnet is preparing to handover the first part of the wind farm consisting of 7 active turbines according to Pierre Pesnel, Official Representative of the company.
An important element of the project is the training of EEPCO staff to carry on operations after the five year operation and maintenance contract of the company expires he said. EEPCO staff are being paired with Vergnet experts to train in the operation and maintenance of the wind turbines with an estimated 300 local and 10 expat staff currently working on the project said Pesnel.
Source: Capital
