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At a COP28 signing ceremony, Dubai-headquartered Amea Power announced what promises to be the Horn of Africa’s largest ever wind development – in a country where private project development has proved highly problematic.

 Sources say five more turbines are expected to come online at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the coming months, adding a huge amount of capacity to the grid, even as questions remain over the megaproject’s economic impact and whether the infrastructure exists to increase exports. Meanwhile, Ethiopia faces the prospect of renewed conflict as tensions ratchet up with neighbouring Eritrea, writes Our Ethiopia Correspondent.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed triumphantly announced on 10 September that the fourth and final filling of the $4.2bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) reservoir had been completed, raising the 74km3 reservoir’s water level to 625 metres; last year’s third filling had brought levels to 600 metres.

Ethiopia is set to join the ranks of Africa’s lithium exporters, with first production from the Kenticha resource slated for later this year. But doubts about this claim have been raised by a group of Abyssinian Metals shareholders, who are fighting a boardroom and courtroom battle to remove the Australian developer’s board.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi have pledged to renew efforts to resolve their dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) during a meeting in Cairo. The two leaders said they would try to reach an agreement on the dam’s filling and operating procedures within four months.

Sceptics argue that the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar programme can distort markets, whereas its backers say it opens the door to increased and sustainable renewable energy investments by independent power producers. Marc Howard and African Energy staff have canvassed a variety of opinions on a major electricity supply industry initiative.

Parastatal Ethiopia Investment Holdings (EIH) and the Ministry of Finance are seeking proposals for 225MW of bagasse-fired co-generation capacity for eight state-owned sugar companies.

The Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) has awarded a contract for a feasibility study on electricity interconnections between Ethiopia and Somalia. EAPP said the selection of a consultant to undertake a nine-month environmental and social impact assessment (Esia) was also at an advanced stage.

State grid operator Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has called for consultancy services for the African Development Bank (AfDB)-supported Eastern Ethiopia Electricity Grid Reinforcement Project.

The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its economic growth expectations for sub-Saharan Africa in its latest World Economic Outlook to 3.6% for 2023. Low-income countries are expected to outperform most of their richer neighbours, but some analysts have warned the IMF is being overly optimistic.

The parastatal Ethiopia Investment Holdings (EIH) and the Ministry of Finance said in March the tendering process to sell eight state-owned sugar companies was progressing. An initial expression of interest was launched in August 2022. A request for proposals (RfP), building on investor feedback, is expected soon.

Amid considerable difficulties, a series of financial and trade agreements are underpinning the government’s hopes for economic recovery following the recent end of devastating conflict with Tigray rebels. Liberalising reforms may encourage more private investment in the power, agriculture and other sectors, while the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s construction continues apace, but with debts weighing heavy and peace still fragile Ethiopia’s challenges remain daunting.

Expanding energy access is one key to the government’s strategy to spur economic growth by way of industrialisation. The strategy is also expected to include privatisation of some state-owned enterprises (SOEs), notably in the sugar industry.

Peace has largely held since the 2 November agreement between Ethiopia’s federal government and the northern Tigray region, brokered by the African Union and sealed in the South African capital Pretoria, which ended two years of war. But domestic stakeholders and international partners are looking on nervously as violence has flared up elsewhere, pointing to the fragility of communal relations in a diverse country with a population estimated at 123m.