A partnership between UNHCR and IKEA Foundation is drawing on the skills of refugees and host communities in Ethiopia’s Melkadida to power a refugee camp. Most of the over 210,000 refugees in the five camps around Melkadida, in southeastern Ethiopia, were forced to flee conflict and drought in Somalia over the last 12 years.

Even with a bright future, Ethiopia’s solar PV business nevertheless has its share of difficulties. These include problems with financing, regulatory frameworks, and grid integration. These difficulties also offer chances for the industry to innovate and expand. Ethiopia can develop local competence in the production, assembling, and maintenance.

Though Ethiopia is aggressively developing its abundant renewable energy sources, over 50 per cent of its population is still in energy poverty. Energy poverty in Ethiopia is manifested in a way that most of the population living in rural Ethiopia mainly uses firewood and biomass for energy sources.

China and Ethiopia have launched a joint research and extension centre supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to fast-track renewable energy development in Ethiopia. The Joint Research and Extension Center is expected to serve as a research, training and demonstration platform to enhance the capacity to access renewable energy

The Ethiopian government has secured financing from the World Bank through the Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) program for 20 solar minigrid projects. The projects will be located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s (SNNP) region, as well as in the Amhara, Somali, Oromia, and Sidama regions.

CABI has teamed-up with a cross-sector consortium to help estimate demand for small-scale hydropower and solar mini-grids that could power irrigation systems to help ensure greater food production in a remote region of Ethiopia.

The Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands has decided to end imports of water pumps that run on diesel and/or gasoline and instead focus on green energy options. Emphasis has been placed on adapting solar and other technologies, and currently trial phases are being implemented and some parties are showing interest in participating in it.

BOS AG, a German provider of renewable energy solutions, announced today the development of a major energy project in Ethiopia. In March 2023, the installation of an electrification project will start in several villages of Ethiopia. The mini-grids will be equipped with 405 kVA of inverter/charger and will provide 200 kW of PV Power.