A tunnel collapse has closed the largest hydropower plant operating in Ethiopia, only ten days after its inauguration.

The event was attributed to “an unforeseen geological event,” which caused a partial collapse inside a 16-mile water tunnel at the newly opened Gibe II hydropower plant, according to a statement from the Italian construction firm behind the project, Salini Costruttori.

The collapse has put on hold operations at the $600 million project, which is supposed to produce 420 megawatts of electricity from the Omo River.

At the inauguration of the project in January,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi indicated his commitment to doubling the country’s existing energy stock in the coming five years, according to the Ethiopian News Agency.

Energy shortfalls in the country have resulted in frequent outages, and Ethiopia has turned to large-scale hydropower to tackle the problem. Five other major projects are in the wings, including a $2.1 billion project — called Gibe III — which would be Africa’s tallest dam.

Hydropower projects on the Omo River have long been controversial.

“Ethiopia is in the midst of Africa’s biggest dam boom, said Lori Pottinger, a spokeswoman for International Rivers, an environmental and human rights group based in California.

”The Gibe projects and the many others being built or planned put Ethiopia on track to becoming one of the most hydropower-dependent nations on earth,” she said. “Such total dependence on something as erratic as the rain is a recipe for disaster in a warming world, especially in a place where hunger is rampant and water resources are so critical for people’s very survival.”

Critics have said the Gibe III project would threaten the livelihoods of communities living on the banks of the river.

Neighboring Kenya, meanwhile — another country that has experienced severe power outages in recent years following periods of drought — announced it was stepping back from hydropower reliance.

“Kenya cannot depend on hydro because of our climatic hydrology conditions,” explained Geoffrey Mwau, economic secretary at the Kenyan Ministry of Finance, in an interview with Reuters.

However, in a separate move, Kenyan energy officials revealed plans to import 200 megawatts of electricity from the Gibe III project in 2015.

Source: NYTimes Blog