<\/p>\n
Approved on July 15, the financing package will support the 300 MW Aysha Wind Project in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, a development expected to strengthen energy security, expand electricity access and accelerate private-sector participation in the country’s power sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project has an estimated total cost of $508 million. AfDB’s financing package includes up to $80 million from its ordinary capital resources, $20 million from the Clean Technology Fund and $10 million from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa. AfDB will also help mobilise an additional $381.1 million in debt financing from other development finance institutions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Developed, owned and operated by AMEA Power, the project involves the construction, operation and maintenance of a 300 MW greenfield wind farm near Aysha. The development also includes a five-kilometre transmission line and upgrades to the existing Aysha II substation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement, Ethiopian Electric Power will serve as the sole off-taker of the electricity generated by the plant and will assume ownership of the completed transmission line.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulations Wale Shonibare, said the project marks a significant milestone for Ethiopia’s electricity sector. “Aysha shows what is possible when governments, development partners and private sponsors work together to solve bankability challenges head-on.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shonibare added: “As co-mandated lead arranger alongside International Finance Corporation, we have structured a first-of-its-kind financing package for Ethiopia, which combines long-tenor senior debt, concessional finance and pioneering risk mitigation mechanisms, creating a replicable template for future power sector investments.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Once operational, the wind farm is expected to generate approximately 1 189 gigawatt hours of clean electricity annually, making a significant contribution to Ethiopia’s power supply.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The project is expected to support the country’s goal of achieving universal electricity access by 2030 while improving the reliability and affordability of energy services.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The development will also help diversify Ethiopia’s electricity generation mix, which currently relies on hydropower for approximately 96% of generation. Increasing wind generation capacity is expected to strengthen resilience against droughts and other climate-related disruptions that affect hydropower production.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB said the project is expected to deliver substantial environmental benefits, preventing an estimated 1.39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the 25-year agreement period.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The construction phase is expected to create up to 1 525 direct jobs, while the operational phase will support 30 permanent positions. An estimated 35 645 indirect jobs are also expected to be generated through supply-chain activities and broader economic growth linked to increased electricity availability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39868,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-39865","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved up to $110 million to support the construction of Ethiopia's largest wind power plant and the country's first wind-based Independent Power Producer (IPP).","published_date":"","news_description":"The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved up to $110 million to support the construction of Ethiopia's largest wind power plant and the country's first wind-based Independent Power Producer (IPP).","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39870,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39865\/revisions\/39870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=39865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}