Aysha Wind

pending

The Aysha I Wind project (“the Project”) involves the development, construction, operation and maintenance of a 300 MW onshore wind power plant, located in Aysha Woreda, within the Sitti Administrative Zone of the Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. The project constitutes Ethiopia’s first privately developed independent power producer (IPP) wind project and supports the Government of Ethiopia’s strategy to diversify the national power generation mix, reduce reliance on hydropower, and strengthen climate resilience through private sector participation in renewable energy infrastructure.The project is being implemented by AMEA Power Aysha Wind One PLC (APAWO or the “project Company”), a special purpose vehicle wholly owned by AMEA Power Ltd (the “Sponsor”, https://www.ameapower.com/), an existing IFC client. The project is structured as a build–own–operate (BOO) facility with an expected operational life of at least 25 years. Electricity generated by the project will be sold to Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). IFC’s proposed investment comprises of a senior loan of up to USD 50 million alongside its role as mandated lead arranger to mobilize parallel and/or B-loan financing from other international lenders.The project is situated approximately 5 km southwest of Aysha town and is accessed from the Dire Dawa–Aysha–Dewele–Djibouti transport corridor. The other permanent settlement area is Lasarat located around 3 km from the project site. The project will be built on land allocated to the project by the Ethiopian Government under a 25- year lease agreement, signed between APAWO and The Somali Regional State Government in August 2024. The wider project lease area covers approximately 84.46 km² of predominantly arid to semi-arid pastoral land under customary land tenure used by Issa-Somali pastoralist communities for seasonal grazing and migration. The project will be constructed under a turnkey Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (“EPC”) contract. The EPC contractor will supply the Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) under the EPC contract and complete the detailed design of the project. The EPC contractor is yet to be selected. The construction phase is expected to extend over approximately 30 months. It is expected that construction phase will also involve temporary infrastructure such as laydown areas, batching plants, construction camps, temporary offices, material storage areas etc. Similarly, an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contractor will also be contracted by APAWO post construction.While detailed design is yet to be developed, it is anticipated that the project will include the following main components: (i) installation and operation of up to 39 WTGs with associated foundations, crane hardstands and internal electrical systems; (ii) underground medium-voltage (MV) collector system linking WTGs to the on-site substation; (iii) an on-site substation comprising MV/High Voltage (HV) transformers, switchgear, control and data systems and ancillary facilities; (iv) a 3–5 km 230 kV overhead transmission line connecting the project substation to the existing Aysha II substation; (v) internal access roads and tracks, drainage structures, and associated civil works; and (vi) O&M facilities including offices, control room, warehouse, security facilities, infirmary and parking areas. The workforce is estimated at 800 during the peak construction phase (for approximately 24 months) and about 25 during the operation phase for a duration of 25 years. Apart from the project’s environmental and social area of influence described above, temporary impacts may extend beyond the immediate lease boundary for example, along the transport and logistics corridor between the Port of Djibouti and the site, including abnormal load transport, temporary road modifications, worker and material movements, and potential sourcing of construction materials from quarries or borrow pits to be selected by the EPC Contractor.