UAE’s Masdar makes solar ambitions in Ethiopia official: UAE renewables giant Masdar inked a roadmap agreement with the government of Ethiopia to develop two solar farms yielding 500 MW in the country’s Afar and Somali Regional State regions, the company said. Masdar did not provide a timeline for the projects’ completion, nor did it disclose its estimated investment ticket for the solar ventures.

We knew this was coming: The Emirati developer said it would deploy solar energy projects yielding 2 GW in Ethiopia back in January. Masdar said it would initially establish solar energy plants generating 500 MW during its initial phase of operations in the country, with plans to expand output by an additional 1.5 GW.

Masdar also has a wider African expansion mapped out: The agreement with Ethiopia falls under the UAE’s Union 7 plan, which aims to mobilize climate financing for renewables projects across Africa in a bid to meet the electricity demands of 100 mn people on the continent by 2035, the company noted. Masdar has plans to similarly deploy 2 GW of solar power in Zambia, signing an agreement to build solar farms in the country through a JV with Zambian state-owned power company Zesco. The first of the planned projects would initially have a 500 MW capacity, with plans to gradually reach a total of 2 GW.

It’s been a busy week: Ethiopia’s Agriculture Ministry and the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a letter of intent (LoI) to expand cooperation in biofuel feedstock production, carbon credit generation, and agriculture earlier this week. The LoI was penned during UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Addis Ababa on Friday, which saw the two countries sign 17 MoUs, including Masdar’s roadmap agreement.

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