2.2. Bases Teóricas
2.2.1. Base teórica Nº 02: ventas
A case study approach relates to the study of a phenomenon in its natural setting in which the researcher employs multiple methods to gather and analyse data (triangulation) (Yin, 1994). Creswell (2007) conceptualises a case study as an inquiry which provides an in-depth interpretation of processes, events or individuals, in scenarios where the phenomenon is unfamiliar/less familiar or even unknown. By definition, it is a study in which “the investigator explores a bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time, through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information, and reports as case description and case-based themes” (Creswell, 2007, p. 73). Therefore, the case study approach offered a microscopic and contextual investigation of the cases which allowed me to obtain rich data necessary for answering the research questions.
3.2.1 Ethiopia as a country case study
Ethiopia was chosen as a single country case study on Africa-China engagement to have more grounded and robust discussion where more space was allocated to one country as
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compared to many38. Using of single country case study is consistent with other studies in
Africa-China relations. Single country case study advances the quality of research as focus will be on depth rather than breadth. There are several explanations for this. First, Ethiopia is one of the second largest non-oil and non-mineral resources rich recipient countries of Chinese loans (Chen et al., 2015; Pilling, 2017) (see figure 4.7; figure 4.8). Additionally, the Chinese are not only financiers, but also the largest builders of Ethiopian infrastructure (Scoones et al., 2016)—roads, railways lines, telecommunication, aviation, industrial parks, hydroelectric dams, and wind farms (see appendix 4.2). Secondly, as of 2018, China became Ethiopia’s largest goods and services export partner, with Somalia and the USA coming second and third, respectively (Workman, 2018) (see appendix 4.5). Thirdly, China is now the largest provider of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia, ahead of India, Turkey, USA and UK (Nicolas, 2017) (see figure 4.9; 4.10). Finally, Ethiopia is presented as one of the few African countries able to meaningfully and strategically exercise agency when engaging with not only Chinese but any external actors. It is argued that Ethiopia is not a “passive recipient” or a “pawn” (Alemu & Scoones, 2013, p. 91) in the wider power games (Mohan & Power, 2008) and yet is a highly aid-dependent country (see figure 4.5). For Brautigam (2011, p. 1), “China sees Ethiopia as a land of business opportunities, but the African country remains in charge
of any deals”. Despite that “Ethiopia’s ties to China have until recently escaped much
academic and mainstream literature as it is not a resource-rich country […] yet is important in other ways” (Gadzala, 2015, p. 85). Gadzala further claims that Ethiopia has a “unique makeup [as] Chinese engagement in that country diverges from that in other states” (Ibid, p. 85). The preponderance of othering and (re)presenting Ethiopia as a unique case juxtaposed with other African countries drove my zeal to explore why that was the case. As such, Ethiopia was selected because to the best of my knowledge no studies exist to date where the African agency lens has been applied to Ethiopia-China cooperation in the financing and development of wind energy infrastructure. The area remains a niche, and this study generates new knowledge and contributes to debates on African agency in Africa-China relations.
3.2.2 “Cases within a case study”: Adama 1 and Adama 2 wind farms
Adama 1 and Adama 2 wind energy infrastructure projects are my case studies. Adama 1 is about 3 kilometres from Adama town. It has 34 units of GW77/1500 kilowatts each with a 76.9 metre diameter Goldwind turbine model. The central location of Adama 1 lies at 39°13'48'E, 8°32'41′N and ranges between 1824 and 1976 metres above sea level. The wind farm has installed electricity generation capacity of 51 MW. It has a 55 mega volts-amp transformer with a 132/33 kilovolt line connected to Nazret substation by a 132kilovolt single circuit overhead
38 Several studies have adopted a single country case study to ensure finer disaggregated analysis of Africa-China relations. See Soule-Kohndou, 2016; Taylor, 2015; Hogwe & Banda, 2017; Corkin, 2013; 2015.
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line (HydroChina-CGCOC JV, 2010; HydroChina Corporation, 2009). Adama 2 is about 7 kilometres from Adama town and has installed electricity generation capacity of 153 MW from 102 units of SE7715/1500 kilowatts each with a 77.7 metre diameter SANY turbine model. The central location of Adama 2 lies at 39°12' 10''E, 8°34′ 18'N, and ranges between 1741 and 2173 metres above sea level. It has a 230kilovolt sub-station with two 90 mega volt-amps. The high voltage terminals are connected to Koka Switch Station by a 230kilovolt single circuit overhead line (HydroChina Corporation, 2013).
Several reasons led me to select the two wind farms39. First, Adama wind farms are the first
Chinese financed and developed wind energy projects in Africa (PowerChina, 2016a). Currently, Adama 2 is the second largest wind power project in Africa40. Financing and
development of wind energy is not normally associated with Chinese engagements in Africa. Instead, China is known for developing roads, railways, stadiums, hydroelectric dams, fossil fuels, telecommunication infrastructure (Sun et al., 2017). The two wind farms have made Ethiopia the 4th largest African country using wind energy (GWEC, 2016b; Tiyou, 2016). Globally, Ethiopia sits at number 40 in wind energy installed power, with China being the largest manufacturer of wind turbines and the largest country using wind energy (GWEC, 2016b). These two wind farms have opened Ethiopia’s market for wind energy development (GWEC, 2016b; Renewable Energy Policy Network for 21st Century, 2016).
Second, the impact of climate change because of greenhouse gas emissions and other natural factors motivated me to select the two projects. The wind farms qualify as part of Goal 7 of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) centred on ensuring access to clean, reliable, modern and affordable energy for all41 (United Nations Development Programme, 2016). Globally,
electricity generated from wind energy contributes to carbon dioxide emission reduction by more than 3.3 billion tonnes per year (GWEC, 2016a). In the case of Adama wind farms, the technical documents suggest that the two projects are recorded to have zero greenhouse gas and other pollutants. This sits well with the Ethiopian government’s Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGES) and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) which targets to slash per capita emissions by 64% in 2030 (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 2015, p. 1). The two wind farms qualified for Certified Emission Reduction (CER) funding from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) arrangement of the Kyoto protocol on climate change adaptation financing. For Adama 1, the CER revenue was estimated to be
39 For Brautigam “I think the case study approach is hugely useful. There’s so much that we don’t know, and good research comes when people stick with one case study and I’m not talking about just one country, but a project in general and find out all they can about it” (2013).
40 It was the largest in 2015 before the Kenyan Lake Turkana wind farm.
41 By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
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around US$5.21 million over the estimated 21 year project lifespan42 (HydroChina
Corporation, 2009).
Third, developing (wind) energy infrastructure is key to Ethiopia’s social and economic structural transformation. It contributes to economic growth by powering industrialisation and transforms beneficiaries of electricity services. More than 70% of the 109 million population do not have access to electricity which affects essential and industrial services. For example, “only 24% of primary schools and 30% of health clinics have access to electricity” (World Bank, 2018b, p. 2). About 80% of the total Ethiopian population live in rural areas and the majority use biomass for cooking and heating which has serious health effects associated with pneumonia, chronic lung disease and lung cancer. As part of the Ethiopian government’s National Electrification Program (NEP), the two wind farms fall within the scope of the ‘100% electricity access target’ by 2025 (World Bank, 2018d). As such (wind) energy infrastructure is crucial as it contributes to the building of resilient infrastructure which promotes inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation (United Nations Development Programme, 2016).
Finally, less attention has been given to the academic study of Chinese investments in Ethiopia’s wind energy sector. There has been a rapid growth of Chinese financing and contracting in Ethiopia, and yet the academic community is silent about this topic43. This could
be attributable to an “absence of detailed information at individual project level [which] further restricts developers’ and policymakers’ understanding of the [wind energy] market” (Mukasa, et al, 2013, p. 1). As argued, “China’s involvement in the continent’s utility-scale renewable energy sector is a relatively recent development and is thus an area that warrants further research” (Baker & Shen, 2017, p. 4). Additionally, South-South Cooperation is being given attention in international development as an essential implementation platform of the SDGs. It is through academic research that one will be able to contest, verify and recognise the importance of such partnerships (United Nations Development Programme, 2016). For these reasons, the two wind farms were selected as case studies. Use of case studies in this research is consistent with conducting academic studies around Africa-China relations (see Baker & Shen, 2017; Brautigam, Hwang, & Wang, 2015; Chen, 2016).
42 During fieldwork, no data was readily available for Adama 2. 43Except for Chen’s (2016) working paper.
55 Figure 3. 1 Adama wind farms location and layout
Source: Google Earth Pro, 2019.