The African Development Bank Group has approved up to $110 million to help finance Ethiopia’s first wind-based independent power project, the 300-megawatt Aysha Wind Project, which will become the country’s largest wind plant once completed.

The $508 million project’s financing includes up to $80 million from the Bank’s ADB window, $20 million from the Clean Technology Fund and $10 million from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, with the Bank also helping mobilise a further $381.1 million in debt from other development finance institutions.

Developed, owned and operated by AMEA Power, the project involves building a 300-megawatt wind farm near Aysha in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, along with a 5-kilometre transmission line and upgrades to the existing Aysha II substation. Under a 25-year power purchase agreement, Ethiopian Electric Power will be the sole buyer of the electricity and will take ownership of the completed transmission line once built.

“Aysha shows what is possible when governments, development partners and private sponsors work together to solve bankability challenges head-on,” said Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s director for energy financial solutions, policy and regulation, noting the Bank co-arranged the financing with the International Finance Corporation using a first-of-its-kind package combining long-tenor senior debt, concessional finance and risk mitigation tools.

The plant is expected to generate about 1,189 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, averting roughly 1.39 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 25 years while creating up to 1,525 direct construction jobs and 30 permanent operating roles. The project is expected to diversify Ethiopia’s power mix, currently 96 percent dependent on hydropower, and supports the country’s goal of universal electricity access by 2030.

Source: (afdb.org)