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The African Union Commission has received 17 expressions of interest (EoIs) for the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility’s sixth application round. The EoIs, for projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, consisted of ten surface studies and seven drilling programmes, and were submitted by both private and public entities. Bid opening took place on 3 August.

During July, Ethiopia achieved its relatively modest target for the first year of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) and after some confusing statements eventually settled on the explanation that this had been achieved from “run-off” after heavy rains rather than from diverting river flow. There have been no reports of any adverse downstream effects. 

Denmark’s Danske Bank signed a loan agreement worth €117m ($128m) in June for the 100MW Assela wind project. The agreement is awaiting approval by Ethiopia’s parliament. Assela is backed by Denmark’s Ministry of Development Cooperation through Danish International Development Assistance (Danida), which signed an agreement to support the €146m project in 2018. Danida is providing both grants and guarantees for Danske Bank.

Ethiopia’s council of ministers approved the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 150MW Corbetti geothermal project in Oromia on 15 June. Prequalification is under way for a drilling contractor to drill at least three exploration wells and up to 26 production wells. The contract is expected to be awarded in Q4 2020. Corbetti is owned by the Berkeley Energy-managed Africa Renewable Energy Fund, Iceland Drilling, Reykjavik Geothermal, and InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG).

The breakdown of talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) on 18 June – after nine days of discussions held remotely over video because of Covid-19 restrictions – left both Ethiopia and Egypt holding on firmly to mutually incompatible maximalist positions. On 19 June, Ethiopian foreign minister Gedu Andargachew told Associated Press that filling the dam would advance whatever happened. “For us it is not mandatory to reach an agreement before starting filling the dam, hence we will commence the filling process in the coming rainy season,” he said.

New power purchase and implementation agreements were signed on 31 March for the Corbetti and Tulu Moye geothermal projects. Agreements had previously been signed for both projects in December 2017 and for Corbetti in 2015.The latest version sees Corbetti’s capacity significantly reduced from the 520MW previously planned. The project will now install 150MW over two phases. Corbetti has been under development for more than a decade, with Tulu Moye not far behind.

Ethiopia’s government has insisted it will chart its own course after facing criticism following the exit of the World Bank Group from the Scaling Solar programme last September. The incident served to highlight issues at other private sector projects in the country, such as the renegotiation of terms with Enel Green Power and Orchid Business Group’s 100MW Metehara solar PV project, which was awarded following a tender process backed by the United States’ Power Africa in October 2017.

Ethiopia’s failure to sign an agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) negotiated over a four-month period in the United States has resulted in angry recriminations. The US Department of the Treasury has been facilitating preparation of the agreement alongside teams from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia and with technical input from the World Bank. Egypt and Sudan are concerned about how quickly Ethiopia will fill the reservoir for the dam and the potential effect it will have on the reallocation of Nile River water rights.

International donors are increasingly frustrated with the Ethiopian government’s approach to private power development as projects slow and development banks are shown the cold shoulder. Ethiopia remains a high priority for most donors, with the United States in particular strongly committed, but access to projects is limited and risks are increasing.

Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has selected engineering, procurement and construction contractors for a 5MW geothermal wellhead project at Aluto Langano. Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation announced on 28 February that it had been awarded the contract alongside Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Turkey’s Egesim Energy Electro-Mechanic Construction Contracting Company.

Ethiopian Electric Power held a ceremony on 4 February on 4 Februaryto mark completion of the 254MW Genale Dawa III hydropower plant on the Dawa River in south-east Ethiopia. The plant was built by China Gezhouba Group over nine years at a total cost of $451m, of which 85% was financed through a loan from Export-Import Bank of China. The remaining 15% ($67.8m) was covered by the Ethiopian government. The plant is designed to produce 1640 GWh/yr once it starts commercial operation, which is expected no sooner than this May, according to Canadian engineering consultancy Stantec.

Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) invites expressions of interest by 24 January from consultants to assist with the development of a series of hydropower projects totalling 1,887MW. The consulting services will entail the preparation of a feasibility study and environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the 564MW Birbir Stage 1 and 2, an update of the ESIA and resettlement action plan for the 371MW Geba Stage 1 and 2 and preparation of IPP bidding documents for the 280MW Chemoga Yeda 1 and 2, 246MW Genale Dawa 6, and 426MW Halele Werabessa 1 and 2 projects, as well as providing training and capacity building.

German technology group Voith has been contracted to optimise production at the 420MW Gilgel Gibe II hydropower plant on the Omo River under a two-year service and operations consultancy contract signed during the G20 Investment Summit in Berlin on 19 November. Voith’s scope of supply comprises the modernisation of maintenance systems, the implementation of digital solutions and knowledge transfer through special training programmes.

Four bidders out of five bidders were disqualified from the first round of the World Bank Group (WBG) Scaling Solar programme in September. Only one bid, led by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, was opened by the Ethiopian authorities following a hectic few months in which the bidding documents were changed late in the process and well after the launch of the request for proposals (RfP). Twelve bidders were initially prequalified in March 2018.

The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) has invited sealed bids by 11 November for the design, supply, construction and commissioning of mini-grid solar PV projects in 25 rural towns and villages. The projects, which will entail the construction of solar power plants with back-up diesel generators and battery storage systems as well as operation and maintenance services for a period of three months, are to be financed by the African Development Bank.