- The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) has stated that the implementation of off-grid energy solutions has benefited more than 580,000 citizens.
- According to the minister, the country has been performing various activities to exploit solar energy potential.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) has stated that the implementation of off-grid energy solutions has benefited more than 580,000 citizens across the country.
MoWE Minister Eng. Habtamu Itefa noted that the country has been working to increase energy supply by integrating renewable sources to meet the growing power demand.
Accordingly, Habtamu’s ministry has been expanding off-grid energy technologies, especially solar energy, which is proposed to reach remote and rural areas.
He mentioned that development partners such as the World Bank Group (WBG) and others are ready to support energy sector initiatives in the country. The MoWE organized the sector’s structure and trained manpower to exploit solar energy.
Ethiopia has renewable energy potentials such as water, solar, wind and geothermal energy. So far, over 92 per cent of the country’s energy production supply comes from hydropower, whereas the remaining energy comes from wind and other sources with the capacity to generate over 60, 000 MW of electric power, he added.
“Currently, solar energy is the emerging energy alternative to reaching rural and remote areas’ growing electricity demand.” Furthermore, according to the minister, the country has been performing various activities to exploit solar energy potential.
On the other hand, Habtamu’s ministry is undertaking several works to enable 80 million people to have access to potable water at the end of this fiscal year by adding over 5 million new beneficiaries to the 74.6 million people it has already reached with drinking water in the just-ended fiscal year.
Hence, the Clean Ethiopia initiative requires raising funds and political commitment to improve water and sanitary services. It will greatly contribute to this goal.
The water and sanitation sector has previously faced various challenges. In this regard, the Clean Ethiopia Initiative is a focal point to further improve the sanitary situation and create a clean environment, he noted.