ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia and Denmark on Thursday signed a 28 million Danish Krone (about 4 million U.S. dollars) grant agreement to support Ethiopia's effort in diversifying renewable power generation.
The agreement signed in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa aims at diversifying Ethiopia's renewable energy through wind power generation and improving quality of service in Ethiopia's electricity distribution system.
Signing the agreement, Admasu Nebebe, Ethiopia's State Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation, said that his country is striving to unleash its potential in the energy sector.
Admasu said Ethiopia has a target to reach 17,000MW production capacity by the end of the country's second five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) through energy mix of hydropower, wind, solar and biogas.
"The agreement we signed today is aligned with our plan to diversify electricity generation sources and investment mechanisms," he said.
The assistance is also expected to improve Ethiopia's institutional framework and market readiness in the power sector with an improved power integration system and minimum grid loss.
"Maintaining high economic growth requires power, and meeting the electricity needs of a growing population requires electricity," said Mette Thygesen, Ambassador of Denmark in Ethiopia.
