Ethiopia Launches Africa Minigrid Programme with Goal of Providing Clean Energy Solution

Posted on : Wednesday , 15th November 2023

The Ministry of Water and Energy in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP Ethiopia has launched the Africa Minigrid Programme (AMP).

The AMP to be implemented with financial support secured from GEF is said to create a multifaceted access to clean energy solution for Ethiopia and 20 other African countries.

The programme also helps to scale up commercial investments in the renewable energy sector.

On the launching session, the State Minister for Water and Energy, Sultan Woli (PhD), stated that 52pct of the population in Ethiopia doesn’t have an access to electricity despite a huge potential in the renewable energy sphere.

He added that 90pct of the population is using firewood to cook foods and this hinders the efforts to ensure food security by contributing to climate change. To address the problem, Ethiopia is implementing a National Electrification Program which is aimed at achieving 100pct power access by 2030, Sultan said.

The Africa Minigrid Programme which has been budgeted with 16 million USD has a capacity to generate 624KW energy benefiting 32,000 people and creating jobs for 120 individuals.

According to the State Minister, the project has a significant contribution in tackling impacts of climate change by a reducing 16,000T of carbon from the atmosphere.

The multipurpose project creates green power access for irrigation, cooking, refrigeration, among others.