PV-Tech reported in April 2019 that Ethiopia had opened a second round of the World Bank-backed Scaling Solar program, eyeing about 500 MW while the first 250 MW round was still unfinished.
The tender talk fitted a familiar energy pattern: announce large solar packages to cut diesel dependence and hydropower risk, then wrestle with offtake contracts, currency, land, and grid connection. Round 2 was meant to show the pipeline was real, not a one-off.
Under Abiy Ahmed’s early reform branding, renewables were part of the investment story sold to multilaterals and developers. Delivery, as always, depended on Ethiopian Electric Power and regulators clearing bankable terms.
The Scaling Solar file stays useful for anyone tracking why Ethiopia’s blackouts and forex crises keep colliding with shiny megawatt targets. Ambition on paper and electrons on the wire are different ledgers.
Sources: PV-Tech
