Siemens Gamesa to equip Ethiopia’s 100-MWp Assela wind farm

Siemens Gamesa announced on Monday that it has signed a contract with state-owned utility Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) for the supply of 29 pieces of the SG 3.4-132 wind turbines. It will also serve on the project as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

We are extremely pleased to begin work in Ethiopia and look forward to collaborating with EEP

Roberto Sabalza, CEO for Onshore Southern Europe and Africa at Siemens Gamesa

The 100MW Assela wind farm will be located between the towns of Adama and Assela, approximately 150 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, and will contribute clean and affordable power for the country’s electricity grid. 

Wind farm to boost Ethiopia’s renewable energy ambitions

Ethiopia targets to supply 100 percent of its domestic energy demand through renewable energy by 2030. According to the African Development Bank, Ethiopia has abundant resources, particularly wind with a potential 10GWof installation capacity and having installed 324MW at present.

Ethiopia secured a EUR-117.3-million (USD 144.2m) loan for the Assela wind farm from Danske Bank A/S.  The loan package was facilitated by the Danish ministry of foreign affairs’ via Danida Business Finance and was ratified by the Ethiopian parliament. Danida Business Finance offers financing on favourable terms to sustainable infrastructure projects in developing countries which would not otherwise have obtained financing on commercial terms.

Supplying Ethiopian residents with clean energy

The 100MW Assela wind farm will help power over 400,000 Ethiopian households with clean renewable energy. The wind farm is set to be commissioned by mid-2023, and will save more than 260,000tons of CO2 emissions per year.

“Siemens Gamesa is intent on expanding its leadership across Africa, and in turn helping a growing transition to green energy across the continent. So, we are extremely pleased to begin work in Ethiopia and look forward to collaborating with both EEP and the country to continue to promote their drive to install more renewables and meet transformational energy targets,” said Roberto Sabalza, CEO for Onshore Southern Europe and Africa at Siemens Gamesa. 

Wood Mackenzie report forecasts that around 2GW of wind power would be installed in Ethiopia by 2029. This would be essential for Ethiopia to meet its renewable energy ambitions to provide all residential power from renewable sources by 2030. The East Africa country also has tremendous geothermal energy potential.