Wind Wire: Build begins

It follows the first down payment of EUR30 million by state utility Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation to French wind turbine manufacturer Vergnet. The French firm is building the project under a EUR210 million engineer, procure and construct contract, which includes the supply of 120 of its new GEV-HP 1 MW turbines (Windpower Monthly, September 2008). The two companies signed the contract in October last year, followed by loan agreements in May. However, it took longer than expected to release the funds says Vergnet, because of administrative delays imposed by the number of stakeholders. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2012.