The Ethiopian government has released its energy plans for 2012 with a couple of big changes expected on the horizon.
In the report, the government detailed the high costs of renewable energy saying, “It is important to put in place a legal framework guaranteeing a level of tariff that will make them financially and economically attractive to develop.” The government is in the process of developing a draft feed-in tariff (FIT) which is expected to come into effect this year. The FIT will help facilitate large scale renewable energy development, providing investment security and market stability for private investors in the power generation sector.
In addition, the country will restructure its national utility, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. (EEPCo). The proposal details how the electric company will undergo “radical reform” in order to increase its power generation capacity. Ethiopia plans to strengthen EEPCo’s organizational implementation capacity by increasing the development of electricity and access to services, strengthening regulation of electricity providers for reliable service, expanding alternative energy production, and increasing emergency oil reserves.
The East African country also plans on developing 2.5 GW of renewable energy by 2030 under its Climate Resilient Green Economy Initiative which will include 22,000 MW of hydropower, 1,000 MW of geothermal, and 2,000 MW of wind. Plans are underway to replace conventional thermal generators with renewable energy generators which will help the countries that import electricity from Ethiopia receive additional benefits through carbon credits.
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