ITALIAN FIRM TO BUILD 100MW SOLAR FARM IN ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia 100MW Solar farm project to get US$120m from Italian Firm.

An Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas, Enel Electricity Company whose Enel Green Power unit lead a consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder for a 100 megawatt solar farm in Ethiopia.

The Consortium which also includes Ethiopian infrastructure company Orchid Business Group is to invest  US$120 million in the project.

Antonio Cammisecra, Enel Green Power boss said Ethiopia, which Africa’s most populous state after Nigeria, with an annual economic growth rate of around 10 percent has all the potential to become a key market for Enel’s strategy in Africa, though it has one of the lowest electrification rates on the continent.

Enel, controls Spain’s Endesa, and is keen to expand in Africa where it already operates in Zambia, Morocco, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa.