Earl Gast, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assistant administrator for Africa, on Thursday, told journalists across Africa via a telephone press conference that Power Africa is gaining ground in terms of financial availabilities for the initiative. The Power Africa Initiative, along with Trade Africa was launched last year by President Barack Obama following his visit to Africa.
Gast said that currently, Power Africa has secured close to 20 percent of the USD seven billion which is to be available for 20 million Africans in the continent. Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria are the six benefiting countries of Power Africa Initiative. The initiative will help to generate some 10,000 MW of electric power. However, the US is more inclined to assist Ethiopia on geothermal energy sources as opposed to the hydropower for obvious reasons- the fragile situation of Egypt and Ethiopia lies on the grand dam project Ethiopia is constructing over the river Nile.
Asked by The Reporter whether the initiative has got anything to do with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Gast was more inclined to discuss the potentials Ethiopia has in geothermal sources.. He clarified that Power Africa is all about green power; mainly focusing on geothermal, solar, wind sources and biomass and to the extent gas are the alternatives planned projects to be executed in those six countries.
According to Gast, some 600 million people in Africa are in need of electrical power supply. Illegal mining makes it more difficult for many in Africa to tap into potentials to the benefit of the mass. Both on and off the grid located communities are considered by the initiative, he said. The very intent of Power Africa is to embrace the private sector both in Africa and the States.
Gast was positive about the power export deals Ethiopia has with neighboring countries. USAID will assist production agreements the countries had for commercial benefits he said. The initiative will make possible power related finances, legal, engineering and other assistances in transactions by overcoming hurdles in Africa. Yet, the initiative remains very immature even after a year. It is still in progress for practical outcomes in Ethiopia if not in the remaining countries.
Recently, the curiosity towards developing geothermal energy seems central for countries like Japan, Poland and boldly the US. An Icelandic company has been in the headlines for its keen interests to invest some USD four billion for 1000 MW of energy from geothermal sources. Japan alone is working on a project to find out if the rift valley of Ethiopia has the potential to generate some 70 MW.
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