Solar power satellite factory in Ethiopia

Once complete, TOYO estimates the new facility will create up to 880 jobs, including manufacturing and engineering. Ethiopia is exempt from tariffs for bifacial solar cells under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 of the U.S.

Energy generation from solar energy in Ethiopia is limited to photovoltaic systems, only solar parks operating with flat panel solar cells will be built and operated. Ethiopia is specifying its solar parks with the ac-converted nominal power output MW ac instead of the standard dc-based MW p.

Ethiopia's state-owned electric power company is planning to develop a 100 MW Solar PV power plant near the town of Metahara, 200 km east of the capital Addis Ababa. The project is supported by Power Africa, a U.S. Government-led partnership to promote new generation and increase access to electricity in Africa.

However, there was no private investment in solar power plants in Ethiopia. Mainly the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) has been a state-owned and vertically integrated monopoly that controls the market from generation to selling of electricity throughout the country .

There are also around 40,000 small off-grid solar home systems (including slightly larger solar institutional systems) for remote rural areas of Ethiopia with a total installed capacity of another 4 MW e. All SCS power plants combined have an installed capacity of around 30 MW e.

As far as the author knowledge is concerned, only a recent state-sponsored pre-feasibility study on solar energy potential of Ethiopia suggested four sites for solar PV grid-connected power plants .