Our Energy for Africa

Published on Wednesday, 18 October 2017

The RES4Africa conference, held in Addis Ababa on 3 and 4 October, was a chance to get to know Ethiopia better and expand EGP’s presence in Africa.

“Emerging economies can now decide what energy policies to carry out, as technologies for using renewable energy are now available at affordable costs”.

This is how Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of Enel Green Power and president of Res4Africa, opened the conference organised in Addis Ababa to present the association in Ethiopia. Res4Africa brings together companies, technology suppliers, the academic world and consulting companies engaged in energy cooperation and in the promotion of renewable energy in Africa. For a continent like Africa, growing rapidly both economically and demographically, secure access to modern energy services for lighting, heating, transport and communications is a primary need to ensure development. Enel Green Power is already committed to the sustainable socio-economic transformation of Africa, with various projects in Zambia, Senegal, Kenya and Morocco.

Meeting in order to understand

The event, entitled “Fostering the Deployment of Renewable Energy in Ethiopia: a Sustainable Roadmap", was a chance to get to know the territory better and initiate a deeper dialogue with local communities.

“Ethiopia is an extremely dynamic market, which is why we have come here to Addis Ababa, following the launch of Res4Africa last year in Kenya”

– Antonio Cammisecra, CEO Enel Green Power

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, after Nigeria, with one of the lowest electrification rates, conditions that make it a promising area for growth.

Enel Green Power has already begun to develop considerations regarding solar, and also shows interest in exploring the potential of other renewable sources, especially geothermal, an asset of Ethiopia.

A 360-Degree Discussion

Many topics were addressed on the stage in Addis Ababa. Some examples include political and regulatory arrangements and investments, financial solutions and business models, technological and technical problems, industrial development, the construction of capacity and the technical skills needed to meet the Africa’s demand for energy. Various EGP speakers participated: Valentino RossiHead of Business Development, spoke about the “de-risking” of investment tools in renewable energy plants. Michele Porri, Head of Business Development Africa, participated in a debate about the legal and financial aspects of the first solar auction programme in Ethiopia. Manuele Battisti, Head of Business Development East Africa, moderated a roundtable discussion on the development potential of wind energy in eastern Africa. On the second day, Anna Paola Minervini, Head of Regulatory Affairs Sub Saharan Africa, Asia and Australia spoke about the innovative and sustainable decentralized energy solutions as an efficient instrument to promote electricity access in remote and low load density areas. 

ENEL