The Waste to energy conversion facility has 25 MW capacity and will produce 185 Giga Watts Hour (GWh) of electricity per year, crushing 1,400 tons of solid waste on a daily basis (thereporterethiopia, 2018). The facility's successful inauguration has multiple implications and benefits to the country.
The straight forward benefit of the power plant is the additional capacity built at the heart of the main load center pushing the renewable energy resources portfolio reserve of the country in multiple directions.
The second benefit is that Ethiopia largely depends on hydro power to drive the burgeoning economy and its energy security is often times perceived as at stake in times of drier weather. Slowly but surely, the energy supply mix or diversity is shifting, Repi being the latest addition to Ethiopian Electric Power's, EEP's, power capacity to safeguard the economy in such unfavorable circumstances.
The third real benefit out of Repi waste to energy conversion power plant is the large amount of municipal waste it will burn and the potential it will play to help alleviate the waste management burden of the capital, Addis Ababa, and the consequent health benefits. The multiple byproducts are also the additional benefits.
The fourth benefit is the lesson learned in mobilizing the knowledge, capital, and other resources to tap in the resource for the benefit of the country with a strong potential to scale and expand it to other regional capitals and municipalities. There is a possibility that regional municipalities can finance, build, own and operate their own energy supply and sustain the cities' energy security.
The last implication is that with the right set of rules, regulations and incentives put in place, the country could leverage the private sector potential to light up the main load centers, the government instead focusing on the access objective of the largely unconnected population.
The Project was jointly constructed by Cambridge Industries Ltd (CIL) in partnership with the Ethiopian government, China National Electric Engineering Co. (CNEEC) and Danish engineering firm Ramboll. It costs USD 120 Million and was originally designed for 50 MW capacity.
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