Biggest Sub-Saharan wind farm planned

The largest wind farm in Sub-Saharan Africa is to be built in Ethiopia following an agreement between the country's national power company and France's only wind turbine maker.

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) signed the deal with French turbine maker Vergnet earlier this month in a move that will see the installation of 120 one-megawatt turbines over three years. The first 30 turbines are expected to be in place next year, the backers claim.

The deal is being financed by EEPC thanks to a €165m loan from investment bank BNP Paribas together with a €45m loan from the French Development Agency.

“This is a very strategic project for us,” EEPC chairman Meheret Debebe told news agency AFP, adding that the additional 120MW would represent 15 percent of present generating capacity.

If successful, the wind project could help to combat some of the electricity generation problems Ethiopia has faced due to much of its capacity being based around hydro-electric power, which has been severely disrupted by drought in recent years. EEPC has been forced to regularly impose power cuts in order to cope with demand.

According to estimates from the UN Food Agency, 9.3 million people in the country have been affected by drought, although the Ethiopian government disputes this figure.