Ethio-Energy-Development
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More Create Blog Sign In Ethio-Energy-Development Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Labels World's Largest Bio-diesel producing Hydro-Energy (1) country! Subscribe To Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- Policy-makers in Ethiopia, challenged by fluctuating Posts oil prices and poverty, are seeking solutions that will improve the living conditions of its people and boost its fragile economy. One such solution, All Comments Ethiopian leaders hope, is renewable energy. About Me Statistics from the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME) indicate that the country spends about Ethiopian Birr 10 billion (US$800 million) Ethio-Star annually to import petroleum products for domestic consumption. The This Blog is aimed to give figure, according to the MoME represents more than 90 percent of information about ethiopian Ethiopia’s earnings from foreign trade each year. Were the country to tap latest energy development. some of its renewable energy potential, the energy independence it would Constructive comments are achieve as a result, would be a boon to the economy. always welcomed. Because of its location, Ethiopia is perhaps one of the most-suitable View my complete profile nations in Africa for tapping renewable sources of energy not only for its own economy, but also for export into regional economies such as Kenya, Interesting web-sites which is always looking at enhancing its energy capacity. Ethio-Energy Law Biodiesel Production While Ethiopia boasts of numerous green energy possibilities such as Search This Blog geothermal, solar and wind power generation, it is the biodiesel sub-sector Search that has taken off over the last few years and continues to witness increased attention both from the government and development partners from abroad. Ethiopia is one of the largest countries in Africa but it is also one of the driest, a factor that renders most of its land unsuitable for agricultural production. This has led the Ethiopian government to shift its focus to biodiesel crops that flourish under the harsh climatic conditions of Ethiopia. The shift from expensive fossil fuels to cost-effective biofuels has received a stamp of approval from the Ethiopian government. It recently approved a 16-page renewable energy strategic document that was prepared under a collaborative partnership between the MoME, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD). According to an expert from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), as the country has grown over the last few years, it has had to devote more and more of its already limited resources towards the purchase of petroleum products and now sees a clear need for cheaper energy that it hopes to get through renewables. The most popular biodiesel plants in Ethiopia include castor seeds and jatropha curcas. Numerous companies from India, Europe, Israel and the United States have formed joint partnerships with local companies to help grow the plants for biodiesel extraction. One of these companies that has already started operations is Global Energy Ethiopia (GEE), which has pumped in more than Ethiopian Birr 200 million (US$ 20 million) in a castor and jatropha seed farming and processing program that will allow GEE to process more than 40,000 tonnes of crude oil when fully operational. GEE started production in 2007 after it leased more than 30,000 hectares of land in Wolaita Soddo in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR). The World’s Largest Biodiesel Producer? In addition to GEE, Eco Energy is an Ethiopian company that has entered into a partnership with the Indian-based Jatropha World. The partnership allows for the exchange of technical expertise that will allow Eco Energy to develop a 25,000 hectare jatropha farm for biodiesel production. According to Robel Debebe, the Chief Executive Officer of Eco Energy, the firm is set to pump in more than Ethiopian Birr 250 million (US$25 million) towards the biodiesel venture that will see the company produce jatropha crude oil for the local market and for export, especially to European nations. According to MoME, biodiesel offers Ethiopia one of the best alternatives to expensive fossil fuels and accords the progressively expanding Ethiopian economy cheap energy sources. The growing interest in the sector is evident, as the Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) has over the last two years registered more than 60 companies interested in venturing into the biodiesel production sub-sector. According to EIA, there are more than 25 million hectares of land available in Ethiopia suitable for biodiesel crop farming. If fully developed, this would make Ethiopia the largest biodiesel producer in the world, with an annual output of more than 20 million litres of crude oil processed from biodiesel crops. Posted by Ethio-Star at 7:06 AM 1 comment: Thursday, April 7, 2011 Economists Advise Ethiopia To Revise Its Energy Policy Researchers at the Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) advised Ethiopian policy makers to revise the existing national energy policy to overcome the current energy crises. This was indicated during the launching of annual Ethiopian economic report published by EEA on March 24,2010. “The energy policy which was adopted in 1994 is inadequate to address the increasingly complex challenges and the unprecedented energy demand growth of the economy,” says Mengistu Tefera, who participated in depth analysis of Ethiopian energy sector research entitled, ‘Development, Prospects and Challenges of the Energy Sector in Ethiopia’. Ethiopia’s demand for electricity and petroleum fuels will grow at 11.6 percent and 9.3 percent per year, respectively. “The demand growth will have serious economic, social and environmental implications and repercussions (the depletion of forest resources will have adverse impacts on fuel supply, soil and water),” the report indicated After the recently inaugurated Gibe II Hydroelectric Power Station interrupted generating power a month ago due to geological problem, EEPCo has started power rationing. Speaking about the current energy crises of the country at the Parliament last week, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi indicated that the problem will be solved in the coming three weeks. The report, which for the first time attempted to incorporate all types of Ethiopia’s energy sources (hydropower, petroleum, biomass and renewable energy sources), listed several measures that should be considered by policy makers of the country in order to solve the burning power issue. “In order to maximize national benefits, policy focus on hydropower needs to be sustained with multiple purpose use for regulated water downstream for power generation, sugar plantations and large-scale farms,” the report advised the government. “In addition, government has to allow the private investor to be engaged actively in energy generation. The current sole power supplier of the country, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) needs to be efficient as any other profit making private company to serve its customers,” Mengistu said. In order to reduce the oil import bill of the country, the researchers advised the need to use the natural gas the country has and bio-fuel as transport fuels along with enhancing the ongoing oil and gas exploration. With regards to biomass energy, on which the majority of Ethiopian population is dependent, the report advised to government to undertake serious review of the current situation with a view to sustain biomass fuel supply. Reforestation programs should also be strengthened through incentive packages to encourage private sector involvement, according to the report. The economists also recommended that the country needs to inject wind turbines, geothermal and coal generation units into its system to improve its power generation capacity, which currently highly dependent on hydropower. “High upfront cost, lack of market infrastructure and after sales maintenance and absence of promotion strategy are the major barriers for dissemination of renewable energy technology in Ethiopia,” said Mekonnen Kassa, who also engaged in the research. To solve the problems related to renewable energy, the report advised policy makers’ the need for formulating and properly implementing a long-term plan and the introduction innovative financing mechanisms. The Universal Electric Access Program (UEAP) of the country is not clearly defined to address the problem of electricity access in the rural areas as planned, according to the report. “UEAP remains undefined as to how close the electricity supply infrastructure would get to rural homes. Moreover, problem of actual connectivity of rural homes has yet to be addressed,” the report stated. Source: NEW BUSINESS ETHIOPIA Posted by Ethio-Star at 12:16 AM No comments: Wednesday, April 6, 2011 Millennium Dam construction: 5,250 MW of Green Energy The ceremony is transmitted live on the national television. The government vow to fully finance the dam on the Nile River, which will cost 80 billion birr (around 4.8 billion US dollars at the prevailing exchange rates). Briefing local and foreign press this week (March 30, 2011) at the Sheraton Addis, Minister of Water and Energy, Alemayehu Tegenu, noted that the government is forced to finance the project alone because Egypt has been engaged in a continuous campaign telling international creditors and donors not to finance Ethiopian projects on the Nile River. “,,,Using its standing in multilateral financial institutions and the donor community, Egyptian