Masdar & Ethiopia Forge Ties for 500 MW Solar Capacity

By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Fri, Aug 25th, 2023

Highlights :

The announcement comes as part of the Etihad 7 program, which was introduced by the UAE in January last year.

Masdar & Ethiopia Forge Ties for 500 MW Solar Capacity

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State-owned UAE-based developer and operator of utility-scale renewable energy projects, Masdar, has joined hands with Ethiopia for the establishment of an additional 500 MW of solar power project in the African country. The announcement comes as part of the Etihad 7 program, which was introduced by the UAE in January last year.

The partnership was forged in Ethiopia by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Vice President, and Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

The UAE and Ethiopia had started talks about solar capacity additions two years ago. Commercial projects, however, are yet to kickstart operations. Other than the recent partnership forged between the UAE and Ethiopia, Masdar has undertaken other initiatives with respect to clean energy in Africa. The UAE, for instance, has set sights on developing 5 GW of fresh capacity in Angola, Uganda, and Zambia as part of the Etihad 7 initiative.

Etihad 7

Introduced by the UAE, Etihad 7 strives to raise public- and private-sector funds to invest in the development of Africa’s renewable energy sector. The initiative eyes the achievement of the deployment of 20 GW of renewable energy across Africa by 2035.

Some agreements signed under Etihad 7 entail an agreement with Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water for the development of renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 2 GW, an agreement with Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development for the development of greenfield renewable projects with a total installed capacity of 1 GW, an agreement with Zambia’s Ministry of Energy, and Zambian national utility ZESCO Limited for the joint development of develop solar, wind, and hydroelectricity projects with a total capacity of 2 GW.

Earlier, China and Ethiopia have launched a joint research and extension centre supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to fast-track renewable energy development in Ethiopia.