Ethiopia starts energy exports to Kenya
The EPA disclosed that after a week of test trials, the 500-kilovolt (KV) Ethiopia-Kenya electricity transmission line started official operations earlier on Thursday.
Ethiopia has started officially exporting energy to Kenya, state media outlet Ethiopia Press Agency (EPA) reported on Thursday.
The EPA disclosed that after a week of test trials, the 500-kilovolt (KV) Ethiopia-Kenya electricity transmission line started official operations earlier on Thursday.
According to the EPA, the electricity transmission line has the potential to export up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity further south to Tanzania and Southern African nations.
The 500-million-U.S.-dollar electricity transmission project was built by two different companies.
The electricity transmission line component was constructed by the China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co., Ltd. German technology giant Siemens constructed the electricity converter station and ground electrode line.
Ethiopia’s energy exports are part of a broader plan to economically integrate the East African region through electricity.
Ethiopia earned 95 million U.S. dollars from energy exports to neighboring countries during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2021/2022, which ended on July 7.
The energy sector is one of Ethiopia’s priorities as the country envisages becoming a light manufacturing hub in Africa together with a middle-income economy by 2025.
Ethiopia has identified hydro, wind, geothermal, solar, and biomass for energy generation projects.
