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Ethiopia’s green economy is booming, but most of the locals are not feeling the benefit.

Last week, the country . The will generate 120 megawatts of electricity. It came online just days after Ethiopia announced to build a 1000-megawatt geothermal facility, the largest in Africa.

Growing economies and more stable governments are making East Africa eager for more power – and it wants green power, says Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the . “People see what’s happening in China with the air pollution and they don’t want coal-fired power stations.” European and Chinese investment has helped the price of wind power fall below that of coal-generated electricity. “It’s becoming an economic option.”

Ethiopia may have access to a terawatt of wind power to add to the vast hydropower resources that now . Add to that the geothermal potential of the East African Rift and the country’s goal of starts to look plausible.

The real challenge will be delivering that power to its people. , 77 per cent of Ethiopians don’t have access to electricity. Most of its power will be sold to neighbouring countries. The government is now trying to connect more people to the grid. Sawyer says cash from the new power plants could help pay for this.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Africa’s green energy hub”