Increasing Ethiopian power capacity by 254 MW

Genale-Dawa 3 Hydropower Project

Power has been one of the most coveted yet unreliable resources throughout Ethiopia. The solution? The Government of Ethiopia set an ambitious goal to nearly double its nationwide electricity capacity by 2025, and the Genale-Dawa III (GD-3) hydropower plant was commissioned to increase overall power capacity by almost six percent.

Located in the southern part of the country, GD-3 is owned and operated by Ethiopian Electrical Power (EEP). Our contribution included contract management consultancy services for the engineering, procurement, and construction, and we also provided transfer of knowledge, training, mentoring, coaching, and classroom workshops with local practitioners. This massive undertaking involved in-depth environmental impact studies as well as the relocation of 730 households and the loss of significant farmland and grassland. Though serious concerns for feasibility, the project moved forward because of the benefit the GD-3 project would bring to the community.

The concrete-faced rockfill dam is 110 metres (360 feet) tall and 456 metres (1,500 feet) wide and its three Francis turbine generators each deliver a generating capacity of 84.7 MW.

Now complete, the Genale-Dawa III hydropower plant increases the region’s access to clean, renewable energy. With this plant in place, Ethiopia is accelerating their sustainable electrical grid adoption and providing more reliable power for their communities.