Some friends of mine are teaching in Ethiopia. They had been teaching there in the late 1970s as missionaries but had to leave due to political upheaval. Today, they have the valuable opportunity to renew old friendships, and I obtained valuable insight of a great ancient biblical country which is empowered today by renewable energy. A brief history and description Ethiopia has an ancient history. It has innumerable biblical ties. The faithful claim the country has the writing of Enoch and the Arc of the Covenant. They claim that Phillip of the apostles, baptized the first non-Jew, was from Ethiopia. King Solomon took time from his busy schedule to accept a guest from Sheba, believed to be part of Ethiopia today. King Solomon was busy indeed. Running a nation in constant turmoil, not to mention having 300 wives and 700 concubines, can be exhausting. Talk about juggling your schedule! Of course, we’re talking about the Queen of Sheba, which was the commerce center of its day. The Queen wished to bestow gifts upon Solomon. Her visit with King Solomon wasn’t to establish trade relations, per se; it was more of a “joint venture.” Nine months after this joint venture with the Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia was assured of a successor to the King. It is upon this heir, Menelik, that the kingdom of Ethiopia established its place in the world. As Mel Brooks once said: “It’s good to be king.” But seriously folks, Ethiopia was the center of trade, a rich and prosperous nation over 2,000 years ago. This ancient world is believed to be the cradle of human civilization too. The first hominoids were found there. Wars and regime changes, however, brought Ethiopia down. Today, it is somewhere between the size of Texas and Alaska with a population of 108 million. Ethiopia still has a royalty aspect to its government. Most of the industry is state-owned, though, that is changing. It has a parliamentary government and also is something of a statistical anomaly in that nearly 50% of the population is under 18. Poverty is everywhere. Elevated population growth is another problem. It is in the throws of a total makeover. Its GNP is rising at an unprecedented rate and the country is moving into the 21 century “wisely” like its native son, Menelik, who presumably inherited his wisdom from Solomon. Apartments are going up rapidly to meet demand, along with the necessary infrastructure. Four new hydroelectric projects are in the works. The future looks bright indeed. Along with economic growth comes a reduction in population growth. Couple those with the women’s movement, and a better life for all in Ethiopia is anticipated. It’s the geography Ethiopia is in the enviable position of having a convergence of the largest rivers in the world, including the Nile. Most of its electricity comes from hydro-power. It has immense tributaries, though unfortunately, these rivers tend to reduce their flow in the summer. To offset these predictable dry spells, huge wind farms have been built and more are planned within the next 2-4 years. Ethiopia has the land to accommodate wind turbines plus the wind which is stronger in the summer. The country also has a high solar index and will be investing heavily in solar power as well. There is, however, the problem with deforestation. Currently the estimate of existing forests is one-third of what it was at the turn of the 19th century. Ethiopia is taking on the task of reforesting and cutting back on wood for charcoal. Africa will, in the foreseeable future, be the bread basket of the world. It has water, arable land, and a huge labor force. No one know this better than China. Why Ethiopia stands out Ethiopia is a nation that has seen more than its share of turmoil. It is a nation that has known war, famine and disease for decades. Today its survival depends on the strength of its leaders. It has its share of corruption; recent court cases have demonstrated that billions have been taken as the country moves forward, but there is a heavy hand of justice there too. What is truly impressive, though, is that Ethiopia has significant coal reserves but has elected not to use them. Instead its policy is to go with hydro, wind and solar power. This discipline will pay off as the nation goes forward. It is the goal of Ethiopia to be carbon neutral by 2025. While it appears only the United States and Russia seem disinterested in reducing their carbon footprints, China has a stated goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. I will elaborate on this in a future article. In conclusion One can certainly admire a country that has its share of domestic problems but doesn’t shirk its global responsibilities. I am not saying that Ethiopia has the answer to our global warming problem, but I can say that it is not making excuses for not addressing it. Ethiopia will have a large youth workforce in the not too distant future, and this will be another challenge. It is expanding its solar fields as the cost of the solar panels have come down dramatically. Wind farms already provide nearly 10% of its electrical power. Although potential jobs may be lost, this nation has chosen to avoid the use of coal. It will pay dividends down the road. Ninety-seven percent of its electricity coming from renewable sources. Ethiopia truly has a plan to make itself great, while China also is a great facilitator of the country’s success.
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AuthorJames Bobreski is a process control engineer who has been in the field of electric power production for 43 years. His “Alternate Energy” column runs monthly. Archives
February 2020
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