The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
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For decades, the nation of Ethiopia has dreamed of creating a dam on the Blue Nile River. Such a dam would provide an enormous amount of electricity for a country that is one of the lowest electricity consumers in the world. It would be a massive undertaking, but it would also bring a great deal of prestige to the country. What was once a dream became a reality in the 21st century, and today it's producing energy for the country. However, the project has also caused problems with many of its neighbors.

Learn more about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, how it was built, as well as how it has impacted the country and its neighbors on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by NerdWallet. When it comes to general knowledge and history, you know I've got you covered. But who do you turn to when you need smart financial decisions? If your answer is NerdWallet, then you're absolutely right. And if it's not, let me change your mind.

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that also happens to have the best converting checkout on the planet. And that's no industry secret. That's Shopify. Learn more at shopify.com slash enterprise. Before I get into a discussion of the dam itself, I should at least provide an overview of the Nile. If you remember back to my previous episode on the Nile, the river is considered to be the longest in the world just edging out the Amazon.

The Nile is very odd compared to most rivers in the world in that it has almost no tributaries for much of its length. From the Nile Delta near Alexandria, Egypt, all the way through Egypt and into Sudan, there are no other rivers that flow into the Nile. In Sudan, there are some minor tributaries, but the river doesn't encounter a major tributary until it reaches the city of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

There, the Nile splits into two major branches, the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The rivers get their names from the Sudanese of the region. The White Nile has relatively clear water and the Blue Nile has some color due to the large amounts of sediment. The White Nile is longer and it begins at Lake Victoria. However, the Blue Nile is the source of 90% of the river's water and 96% of its sediment. The Blue Nile's origin lies in the Ethiopian highlands.

For centuries, nobody knew what caused the Nile's annual flooding. Turned out that seasonal rains in Ethiopia was the cause of the flooding. The difference in water flow on the Blue Nile between the wet and the dry seasons can often vary by as much as a factor of 50. And that is an enormous amount of potential energy. Egypt fulfilled their dream of placing a dam on the Nile, building the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s and 1970s.

While significantly downstream from Ethiopia, Egypt showed the benefits of a dam across the Nile. The idea of a dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia dates back to at least the 1960s, when the Antwan High Dam began its construction. The United States Bureau of Reclamation conducted a survey on behalf of the Egyptian government from 1956 to 1964 and established an ideal site for a dam.

The location, which is the current location of the dam, was 14 kilometers or 9 miles from the border of Sudan. Due to political turmoil in Ethiopia over the next several decades, the dam remained just an idea. The first setback was the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution.

Sparked by widespread famine, economic hardship, and dissatisfaction with the autocratic rule of Emperor Haile Selassie, the revolution began with a series of strikes and demonstrations in early 1974, primarily led by students, workers, and disaffected soldiers. These protests rapidly escalated into a full-blown revolt, culminating in a coup d'etat by the DERG, a committee of military and police officials in September of 1974.

They abolished the monarchy, killed the emperor, and established a Marxist-Leninist government under Mengistu Haile Mariam that pursued radical land redistribution and nationalization policies. The coup and assassination of Haile Selassie began a lengthy civil war that devastated the country. The Ethiopian civil war was fought between the Derg and various rebel groups, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front.

In 1977, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in what is known as the Agadan War. This conflict was primarily driven by Somalia's desire to annex the Agadan region, which was prominently inhabited by ethnic Somalis. The invasion took place against the backdrop of the Ethiopian Civil War, which had left Ethiopia politically and militarily weakened. Somalia's initial success was significant, capturing much of the Agadan by September of 1977.

However, the tide turned when the Soviet Union shifted its support from Somalia to the new Marxist government in Ethiopia, providing crucial military assistance to Ethiopia. By March of 1978, Ethiopian forces had regained control of the Agadan region, forcing Somali troops to retreat.

From 1983 to 1985, a horrible famine ravaged much of Ethiopia, largely the result of the civil war. At least a million people died from the famine, which constituted the majority of the 1.4 million deaths during the civil war. The Ethiopian civil war, which is probably worthy of its own episode in the future, eventually concluded with the overthrow of the Derg in 1991, leading to the establishment of a new federal system in Ethiopia and the independence of Eritrea.

That was all a rather long-winded way of explaining that Ethiopia was not in any condition to tackle a megaproject like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam at that time. It wasn't until the early 21st century that the idea of a dam was revived. The Ethiopian government surveyed the region in 2009 and 2010, and plans for the dam's construction were submitted in November of 2010.

The dam was officially announced on March 30, 2011 under the name Project X, and it was later renamed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to honor Ethiopia's aspiration for development. The day after the announcement, on March 31, the contract was awarded, without a competitive bid, to the Italian firm Cellini Impreglio. Then, the day after that, the foundation stone for the dam was laid. So, things were moving fast.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a gravity dam, which means it relies on its massive weight to resist the horizontal thrust of the water that it holds back. The dam is primarily constructed from roller-compacted concrete, which allows for a quicker and more economical construction process compared to traditional concrete methods.

The dam is a height of approximately 145 meters or 475 feet, and it stretches about 1.8 kilometers or 1.1 miles across the Blue Nile River. The reservoir behind the dam can hold up to 74 billion cubic meters of water, making it one of the largest in Africa. The dam is equipped with two spillways, a service spillway and an emergency spillway to manage excess water.

The service spillway is controlled and allows for water to be released in a controlled manner, whereas the emergency spillway is designed to operate during extreme floods. There are two main powerhouses situated at the base of the dam. These house a total of 16 turbines. 14 of the turbines are 375 megawatt Francis turbines, and two of them are 375 megawatt Pelton turbines, which are often chosen for their efficiency in high-head applications which are typical of large dams.

The total output of the dam is expected to be somewhere around 6 to 6.5 gigawatts. This would be enough to provide electricity to half of the people in the country who currently do not have it. It'll be a giant leap forward in terms of improving the living standards for those in Ethiopia. Given the Blue Nile's unique characteristics, special concessions had to be made.

To manage the significant sediment that the Blue Nile carries, the dam is designed with flushing tunnels that help reduce sediment buildup, which can affect dam operations and reservoir capacity over time. The dam includes features to mitigate environmental impacts such as fish ladders to aid the migration of local species of fish that are disrupted by the dam's construction. As of the time of this recording, the dam is almost done. It's approximately 97% complete, and the reservoir has already filled up.

One of the remarkable aspects of the dam is that almost all of the funding has come from inside Ethiopia. Money was raised through bonds and private donations, save for a $1 billion grant from the Chinese government which went towards turbines. And the project has largely stayed within budget. So far I've talked about the dam and what it will do to Ethiopia. By all accounts, it may very well usher in a renaissance in Ethiopia. However, there is an issue which has been hanging over the dam since it was announced.

Sudan, and Egypt. Whenever you do anything to a river, the people who will be the most affected are those who live downstream. If you dump something in a river, it's the people downstream who are going to suffer. In the case of a dam, whoever controls the dam can control the flow of water for everyone else below the dam. Both Egypt and Sudan are heavily reliant on the Nile for drinking water, agriculture, and transportation.

If either country should get into a conflict with Ethiopia in the future, Ethiopia would have the ability to shut off almost the entire water supply to either country. Even if there is no conflict, in the event of a drought, Ethiopia could keep as much water as they need without letting any flow downstream. Both Egypt and Sudan have tried making legal arguments for their case.

Egypt refers to colonial-era treaties which granted it substantial rights to the Nile's water and a veto over upstream projects. Though these treaties are not recognized by Ethiopia, who was never colonized. Sudan has some unique concerns that are separate from Egypt. One of the biggest has to do with what would happen in the event of flooding. As I previously mentioned, the Ethiopian highlands can experience extreme rains during the wet season, which is responsible for the annual flooding in the Nile.

Sudan is concerned that if there was flooding, then the dam could potentially burst. As the dam is located so close to the Ethiopian-Sudanese border, Sudan would actually suffer more from such a catastrophic event than Ethiopia would. Ethiopia did agree to slow the process of filling up the reservoir behind the dam as to not dramatically affect the flow of water downstream. However, as of the time of this recording, there is currently no written agreement between the parties.

Egypt and Sudan seek a legally binding mechanism that includes all three countries to manage disputes and ensure fair usage of the Nile's waters. Balancing Ethiopia's development needs with the water security fears of its downstream neighbors will be one of the biggest challenges going forward. This makes the dam not only a matter of infrastructure, but also a significant geopolitical issue in the region.

Negotiations have been ongoing involving various international mediators, but reaching a consensus that satisfied all parties involved has been extremely challenging. One of the concerns is that if there is no agreement in place regarding water usage, if some conflict should arise in the future, it could turn violent, and a military conflict over the dam could have disastrous results. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a monumental project that reflects Ethiopia's ambitious development goals.

When it's complete, which should be months after this episode is recorded, it will be the most powerful hydroelectric plant on the African continent and one of the most powerful in the entire world. No matter how successful the dam is and how much energy it could potentially produce for the people of Ethiopia, the geopolitical questions surrounding the dam will eventually have to be resolved.

The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiefer. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere Daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters.

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