ACWA Power awarded two solar power projects in Ethiopia

Riyadh-based ACWA Power has been awarded two 125 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) projects by the Public Private Partnership Directorate General (PPP-DG) of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, it said in a statement on Monday.

ACWA and Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), the state-owned electricity producer, and the Ministry of Finance signed a letter of intent on Oct.15. The new plants will be located in Dicheto, in the Afar region, and in Gad, in the Somali region of the country.

The entities will also proceed to sign a long-term power purchase agreement for the projects at $2.52 cents/kWh over a time span of 20 years before 2019-end, the statement noted.

With a combined capacity of 250 MW, the projects will contribute in addressing the current energy shortfall as well as diversifying the energy mix in Ethiopia.

The two solar PV projects were tendered in April 2019 and are estimated to power 750,000 homes and offset 320,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.