GERD: Loads of sunshine, so why hydro?

Is hydropower the only reliable means to generate electricity? To answer that question, we would do well to look at the alternatives.

Coal and natural gas have been around a long time. Nuclear energy is still in short trousers while renewables (wind and solar) are still in diapers.

The potential for the oft overlooked geothermal energy is huge, notably in eastern Africa (Ethiopia’s neighbourhood), according to Establishment of Geothermal Resource Centre to Accelerate the Development of Eastern Africa.

Now back to the opening question: Is hydropower the only reliable means to generate electricity?

Where is the place Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) stand in the scheme of energy production?

Addis Ababa says the GERD’s capacity would reach 6.45 gigawatts, which is enough to make it Africa’s largest hydroelectric power plant. Ethiopia also claims the dam would help it achieve sustainable development by boosting its agricultural sector in the long term.

In the light of Ethiopia’s claims, consider the following.

Since the 1980s, more nuclear power plants have come onto the national grid of many countries. Solar and wind energy are getting their places in the sun, too. Which continent enjoys the highest proportion of sunshine hours? Africa.

Nuclear fission, sunny breezes and heat from Mother Earth are at the disposal of Ethiopia. Hydro-electricity is another option for Ethiopia provided there is co-ordination with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.

Egypt constructed the High Dam in the 1960s for better irrigation, land reclamation and power generation. The dam’s maximum capacity stands at 1,900 megawatts of a total 55,000 megawatts of electricity produced in Egypt, according to official data.

Nuclear power plants stand out as the world’s top power resource for the future. In the US, for instance, nuclear energy has the highest capacity factor, around 92.5 per cent, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Geothermal has the highest capacity factor at 74.3 per cent, followed by natural gas and hydropower at 56.6 and 41.5 per cent, respectively, according to EIA data.

In view of Addis Ababa’s intransigence and manoeuvring since 2011, that GERD could be viewed as no more than a political project aimed at harming the historical rights of downstream countries to the Nile waters.

Water-related sustainable development in the Nile Basin should be integrated and well-co-ordinated. Unilateral moves cannot be justifiable under any circumstances.