Ethiopia opens plant to turn waste into energy

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Ethiopia on Sunday inaugurated a power plant which converts waste into energy, next to a filthy open-air dump in Addis Ababa where a landslide last year killed more than 110 people.

Named Reppie, the facility is the first of its kind in Africa, according to the government and the British company Cambridge Industries behind the project, and will turn 1,400 tons of waste per day into energy.

Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome said at the ceremony that the country "has been investing extensively in hydropower, geothermal, wind energy and now biomass to boost the manufacturing sector with a supply of clean, renewable energy."

Reppie, the power plant which converts waste into energy /VCG Photo

Reppie is located beside a massive dump called Koshe, a slang word for "dirt" in the country's main Amharic language.

There for over 40 years, Koshe serves as the main rubbish tip in Ethiopia's capital which has a rapidly rising population, currently at more than four million people.

The main landfill of Addis Ababa on the outskirts of the city, where Ethiopia has built a power plant to convert waste into energy /AFP Photo

A huge landslide killed more than 110 people in March 2017, which scavengers blame on the construction of the incineration plant next door.

The building of the waste-to-power plant began in 2014 at the approximate cost of 118 million US dollars. The incinerated waste will generate steam which will then drive a turbine that produces electricity at a projected power of 25 megawatts per day.

(Top image: Reppie waste-to-energy plant on its opening day at Koshe in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, August 19, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): AFP