ACWA Power was awarded two 125 MWac solar photovoltaic (PV) projects by the Public Private Partnership Directorate General (PPP-DG) of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance. ACWA Power won the bid for the plants during the first round of Ethiopia’s solar program organized under the new PPP law.
ACWA Power and Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), the state-owned electricity producer, and the Ministry of Finance signed a Letter of Intent on October 15. The entities will proceed to sign a long-term power purchase agreement for the projects at USD 2.52 cents/kWh over a time span of 20 years before the end of 2019.
With a combined capacity of 250 MWac, the projects will contribute in addressing the current energy shortfall as well as diversifying the energy mix in Ethiopia, where the Government is currently working to increase the electricity generation capacity of the country from 4,300 MW today to 17,300 MW by 2020. The new plants will be located in Dicheto, in the Afar region, and in Gad, in the Somali region of the country.