Private Sector Participation in Energy Sector Growing  

Addis Ababa, April 16 /2024 (ENA) The desire and involvement of the private sector in Ethiopia’s energy sector has been growing, Water and Energy State Minister  Sultan Welle said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the state minister stated that the participation of the private sector is crucial to the nation’s energy demand and to provide energy for countries in the region. 

Accordingly, the Ethiopian government has, for instance, signed an agreement recently with AMEA Power, one of the fastest growing renewable energy companies in the region, to generate about 300MW which is an onshore wind project in the Somali region.

The Aysha wind energy project, which is being developed in partnership with Dongfang Electric and LAFTO Turbine Technologies, is also poised to become the largest wind energy project in the Horn of Africa, Sultan noted.

Regarding other ongoing projects, the state minister said the 150 megawatts Corbetti Geothermal Power Project and the Tulu Moyo geothermal projects are clear manifestation of the growing trend of the private sector participation in energy generation. 

For him, the recently launched National Sustainable Energy Development Strategy (N-SEDS) will also help to attract more private actors in the sector.

N-SEDS seeks to achieve energy access and social equity, economic growth and competitiveness, energy efficiency and conservation, energy security and resilience and environmental sustainability.

Moreover, the establishment of the Petroleum and Energy Authority is a big step and will play a pivotal role in the increase of the private sector in the nation's energy sector, he pointed out. 

"When we see the private sector engagement, there are actors who have been in successive talks with us as the desire to engage in Ethiopia’s energy sector has been also growing from the Arab world, Europe, Asia, among others," the state minister elaborated.

Ethiopia has abundant renewable energy resources and the potential to generate over 60,000 megawatts (MW) of electric power from hydroelectric, wind, solar, and geothermal sources.