Page 10 - AfrElec Week 49

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NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
mobilising against the controversial coal project.
In response to the announcement,
Landry Ninteretse,Regional Team Leader at 350Africa.org said, “In the last three years, 350.org along with local and regional partners have been raising the alarm, exposing the catastrophic human and ecological impacts facing the Bargny, Sendou and Rufisque communities if the project went ahead. We denounced the role of banks such as the African Development Bank, the Compagnie Bancaire de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CBAO) and the Netherlands Development Bank (FMO), who had financed the project.”
The cancellation of this Bargny Project is the second major coal project to be cancelled on the continent this year, after the National Environment Tribunal (NET) of Kenya cancelled the licence previously granted to Amu Power for the construction of the Lamu Coal Plant. Proof that people power is truly unstoppable and that resistance to fossil fuels is rising.
HYDRO
Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to
meet January 13 over dam
dispute
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan plan to meet in Washington, DC, in January to try and finalise an agreement to resolve their dispute over a massive dam project on the Nile River.
A joint statement issued by the US Treasury Department on Monday said their three foreign ministers met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass in Washington to work out differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the second such meeting since early November.
“The Ministers of Foreign Affairs look forward to reconvening in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2020 to review the results
of the upcoming technical meetings in Khartoum and Addis Ababa with the goal of finalising an agreement,” the statement said.
Two more technical meetings will take place in the next few weeks centred on coming up with rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the dam, it said.
“The ministers recognise that there are substantial benefits to all three countries in developing rules and guidelines to address drought conditions,” said the statement.
The implementation of these technical
rules will be undertaken by Ethiopia but
may be adjusted by all three countries in accordance with water conditions in any given year.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is about 70 percent complete and promises to provide much-needed electricity for Ethiopia’s 70 million people.
However, Egyptian officials are concerned that filling the reservoir behind the dam could significantly reduce the amount of Nile water available to Egypt.
The joint statement said the rules and guidelines developed for the operation of the dam would include ways to mitigate drought conditions based upon the natural flow of the Nile and water release rates from the dam’s reservoir.
RENEWABLES
AMEA Power signs 700MW green deal with Egypt
UAE-owned AMEA Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company
(EETC) for a 200MW solar PV project and a 500MW wind power project in Egypt.
The PPA was signed by Sabah Mashali, president of EETC, and Hussain Al Nowais, chairman of AMEA Power, on December 10 in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Abyodos Solar Power Company (ASPC), a company fully owned by AMEA Power, will build, own and operate the 200MW solar project in the Kom Ombo region of Aswan under the 25 year take-or-pay agreement.
Amunet Wind Power Company (AWPC), also fully owned by AMEA Power, will build, own and operate the 500MW wind power project in the Ras Ghareb area under the 20 year take-or-pay agreement.
The power plants, expected to be commissioned in Q4 2021 for solar and Q3 2023 for wind, will be able to supply 2.9 GWh per year.
The Project confirms the dedication of AMEA Power to support the country’s firm goal of increasing the renewables contribution by 42% to its energy mix by 2035.
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Week 49 12•December•2019