The Adama One Wind Power Project, built at a cost of US$117 million was inaugurated on Saturday (December 1st) in the presence of Prime Minister Hailemariam and other high level government officials.

The project has a generating capacity of 51 MWs. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister noted that Ethiopia is striving to meet a goal of producing 10,000 MWs by the end of the Growth and Transformation Plan in 2015, and he thanked Addis Ababa University for its commendable performance over the project consultation.

According to Ato Fikadu Abraham, coordinator of the site, using wind to generate electricity is cost effective, and the project was particularly advantageous because it had no negative impact on the environment or the surrounding community. In addition "we have no additional expense once it is completed, except for maintenance," he said.

Adama One Wind Farm has already been connected with the country's main power grid. 85 percent of the project cost was covered by loans obtained from the Chinese government, and the Ethiopian government provided the balance.