1.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

1.1Renewable Energy Status in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has high renewable energy potential of which : Hydropower - 45,000 MW,
Geothermal -5,000 to 10,000 MW, Solar energy - 5.5 kWh /m2/day, Wind energy - 10 GW
for an average wind speed of 7 m/s at 50 m above ground level, Woody Biomass -1,120
Million tones/year and agricultural waste - 15 to 20 Million tones/year.

Like most Sub-Saharan African countries, Ethiopia is still heavily dependent on traditional
energy resources. The Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia understood
the need of a rapid transition to sustainable way of utilizing energy for accelerated economic
growth and prepared climate resilient green development strategy for the energy (CRGE) and
other sectors. To implement the CRGE, the government is investing in development of
hydropower plant, wind power plants, solar energy, and improvement of industrial energy
efficiency, biofuels and sustainable supply and efficient use of biomass. As a result, the
generation capacity in the grid has reached 4,284 MW among which 3,810 MW is from
hydropower plants, 324 MW from wind farms and 7 MW from geothermal. The household
connectivity has reached 25%.

From the mega projects executed by the government, the Grand Renaissance Hydropower
Plant project is expected to generate 6,000 MW upon completion in the coming few years.

Between 2016 up to 2020, it is planned to implement power generation projects with a total
capacity of 6,189 MW among which hydro, geothermal wind, solar and biomass plant will
have shares of 3879, 579, 820 and 300 MW, respectively. The objective is not only to meet
the local supply but also to exploit electricity to east African counties through grid
connectivity.

With regard to fuels, Ethanol is produced as by-product of sugar and is blended with petrol
up to 15 % . Jatropha is being planted in marginal lands by farmers for land rehabilitation and
as feedstock for production of biodiesel with proper quality assurance.

The use of biogas for household cooking is encouraged. Around 8,160 biogas plants were
installed under the National Phase I Biogas Program (2009-2013). The Phase II of this
program emphasizes on developing entrepreneurial skills in the bio-digester construction
business for wider dissemination.

Electricity is still not accessible from the grid to sparsely located rural communities and
villages. Hence, other options of decentralized power generation systems have to be sought
for off grid electrification using micro hydropower, solar photovoltaic, biogas and wind
energy technologies. In addition, connection of the intermittent energy sources such as PV
plant and wind farms are known to cause grid instability which requires introduction of
energy storage.

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1.2 Renewable Energy Center, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology at
Addis Ababa University
In order to support the Ethiopian Energy demand, Addis Ababa University launched energy
center in 2009 at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAIT) to serve as a platform for
interdisciplinary training and research activities focusing on renewable energy. The energy
center after its establishment started M.Sc. program in Energy Technology. The program is
running for the last 8 years and graduated about 80 students. It has also coordinated proposal
preparation for different local and international calls and executed interdisciplinary research
activities and consultancy service. The current organizational structure of Renewable Energy
Center is shown figure below. The center has an advisory board comprising different
stakeholders’ schools: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Bio Engineering and
Energy related department from College of Natural Science is assigned to advise and
supervise the center.

AAiT
Execxutive Director

Advisory Board

Reneweable Energy
Center Head

Program Reserach
Coordinator Coordinator

Secretary

Solar Energy Wind Energy Mini & Micro Hydro Bio Energy
Chair Chair Chair Chair

1.3 Research and Development Capacity Related to Energy at Addis Ababa

Institute of Technology
The Institute conducted the following research and development projects related to energy.

1.3.1 Accomplished Research Projects

a) Wind pump research and development program (1980-1986): funded by -IDRC,

Canada and local partner was Ministry of Water Resource; program outcomes - local
manufacturer of windmills and water pump.

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 b) Solar Energy Research and Development program funded by SIDA-SAREC (1991-
2006): The program outcome was able to transfer the local manufacturer and
installation of solar water heaters and configuration and installation of PV system; in
the capacity building side, the program was able to train two staffs at Ph.D. level in
the area of PV water Pumping , Hybrid PV and Wind power generation and more than
8 M.Sc students.

c) Global Fuel Efficiency Initiative (GFEI) Study in Ethiopia as pilot for Africa
sponsored by UNEP (2012). The outcomes were the average fuel efficiency and CO2
emission from vehicles registered in 2005, 2008 and 2010, vehicle stock statistics
analysis in Ethiopia and impact of vehicle emission on ambient air quality in Addis
Ababa.

d) Design review, installation, supervision and commissioning of 65 MW Adama I Wind

Farm EEPCO (2010-2011): As the consultant, AAIT reviewed micro siting and EIA
studies of Adama wind farm I and checked the design of structural, foundation,
internal load, wind turbine, transformers, and power system control and SCADA
system. AAIT supervised the installation and commissioned the project.

e) Small scale concentrating solar energy system with heat storage (2007-2012). The
research project was funded by NUFU and coordinated by NTNU and conducted with
five African Universities. The outcomes of the research component conducted at
AAIT was a new pumped oil system for Injera baking applications, including a new
thin ceramic Injera pan with high efficiency and one Ph.D. graduate.

f) Biogas plant for AAIT Student cafeteria. Using canteen waste for hot water
generation (2010-14): The project was funded by IGNIS and was conducted in
collaboration with AAIT. After making laboratory analysis of the canteen waste, a 28
Nm3/day biogas for water heating using a gas burner was designed. The biogas plant
with digester capacity of 200 kg canteen solid waste and 400 liter waste water was
installed near the canteen. The outcomes of the project were: reduction of energy
consumption and GHGs emission and technology transfer of waste to energy.

1.3.2 Ongoing Researches in AAiT related to Energy (selected)

a. Development of high efficiency micro hydraulic turbine using CFD optimization,

funded by Ministry of Water and Energy

All the following research projects are three years projects funded by Addis Ababa
University

a. Small scale sustainable biodiesel production from Jatropha

b. Development of Carbon based catalyst for the conversion of lignocellulose
into Bioethanol
c. Small scale waste-to-energy plant development

1.3.3. Research Facilities Related to Energy at AAIT

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a) Hydraulic machinery laboratory: small turbine test benched and test bench for micro
hydro turbine with mechanical brake. Flow measurement devices

b) Engine performance and fuel Cetane no test standard CFR engine for biodiesel testing

c) Small wind tunnel turbine blade testing.

d) PV and wind PV hybrid performance testing setup

e) Basic instrument for solar system testing; Pyranometer, temperature sensors and data
loggers.

f) Small scale biogas production and test set-up

g) Small scale bioethanol fermentation unit

1.3.3 Researchers in Renewable Technology at AAIT

No. Name Academic Rank Research Area E-mail

1 Dr.-Ing. Demiss Alemu Assoc. Professor Solar Thermal, Biofuels demiss_a@yahoo.com
2 Dr. Getachew Bekele Assoc. Professor Hybrid power getachewb@gmail.com
generation
3 Dr.-Ing. Edessa Dribssa Assoc. Professor Hydraulic Turbines edessa_dribssa@yahoo.com
4 Dr. Firehiwot Woldehana Assoc. Professor PV systems fwbayou@gmail.com
5 Prof. N.P. Singh Professor Power systems npd.singh@gmail.com
6 Dr. Semu Ayalew Assoc. Professor Hydropower & Climate semu.moges.2000@gmail.com
Change
7 Dr. Berhanu Assefa Assoc. Professor Waste to Energy
8 Dr. Mebruk Mohammed Ass. Professor Hydrology/Hydropower mima_moh@yahoo.com
9 Dr. Solomon Tesfamariam Ass. Professor Solar Thermal solomontem@yahoo.com
10 Dr.-Ing. Wondwossen Ass. Professor Waste to Energy and wondeeebog@gmail.com
Bogale Wind Energy
11 Dr. Abdulkadir Aman Ass. Professor Solar Thermal and abdiaman2004@yahoo.com
wind energy
12 Dr. Solomon Kiros Ass. Professor Bio-energy
13 Dr. Beteley Tekola Ass. Professor Bioethanol production beteley.tekola@aau.edu.et
14 Dr. Kamil Dino Ass. Professor Bio-energy & Solar kdadem@gmail.com
Thermal
15 Dr.-Ing. Getachew Biru Ass. Professor Power Systems gbiru@yahoo.co.uk

2. OBJECTIVES

2.1 Research
The main objectives for the research is to transform the Renewable Energy Center of AAIT
to CoE of Renewable Energy Technology research with focus on hydropower, solar energy
and grid instability and energy storage that will give practical solution to the problems in

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tune with the worldwide concern of greenhouse effect to reduce heavy reliance on fossil
fuels.

2.2 Capacity Building

The capacity objective concentrates mainly on training of 18 researchers at Ph.D. level and
build research infrastructure and networking.

3. Research Programmes
2.2.1 Research

a) Sub thematic area Hydropower

i. Development of water resources allocation model for hydro- power plant and other
needs

Objective:

 To schematize the hydraulic and hydrologic systems of trans boundary basin

 To analyze the impacts of constructing mega hydropower projects in the water
resources use of D/S riparian countries
 To determine the optimal allocation of resources (irrigation, hydropower, water
supply, flood control, etc.) and benefits among shared river basin states
 To develop a win – win solution in water resources sharing and allocation of trans
boundary rivers thereby minimizing the cause of conflicts because of shared waters
 To analyze the socio-environmental impacts of water resource projects

Expected outcomes:

A well developed and schematized tested model for analyzing the impact of any water
resources development project on water resources use and benefits of the basin to be applied
by utilities, government organization, development partners, universities and research
organizations on the technical feasibility, socio environmental soundness, economic
advantage and financial feasibility of planned and under construction water resources
projects.

ii. Development of low impact low head water turbine

Very low head hydropower site generally refers to where the net available water head
varieties from 0.5 - 4.2 m. According to a study carried out by New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization, Ethiopia has a potential of 2.7 GW ultra low head
micro hydro power development opportunities for which a head drop of less than 5m.
According to the same study, effective utilization of the aforementioned resource in Ethiopia
would also offset carbon emission by as large as 700,000 tCO2/year. In this regard, the
objective of the research is to develop high efficiency micro axial turbine and analyze using
CFD model that can operate at low head without dam.

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The outcomes of the research are high performance low impact low head turbine prototype
and its potential to accelerate rural electrification.

i. Performance and viability pilot micro hydropower plants

The study objective is to evaluate performance all year round performance of micro
conventional and low impact low hydro power plants and assess their technical and economic
viability in comparison with other options.

The outcome of the research will be to identify feasible areas of application of conventional
and low impact micro hydropower plants

ii. Conversion of underutilized and cascaded reservoirs into pumped storage plant.

In Ethiopia, Melka Wakena Hydro power plant reservoir and turbines are underutilized.
Moreover there are cascaded plants with non-operated turbines at Awash river . Hence, there
is a possibility of using these reservoirs for energy storage and the turbines for peak load.

The objective of this research (pump that can reverse as turbine, penstock and control
equipment) is to evaluate the required design changes in the reservoir and equipment
requirement and determine amount of energy that can be stored and converted into electricity
and cost of additional electricity that will be available for sale

The outcome of the research is preliminary design of feasible pumped storage plants project
on underutilized and cascaded reservoirs for implementation.

b) Sub thematic area hybrid and cogeneration Solar Energy System

i. Solar milk pasteurization and preservation system for off-grid areas.

Like any other developing countries in Africa, small holder milk farmers are major
contributors of milk production in Ethiopia. Energy and means of preservation is the
main challenge in milk surplus rural areas of Ethiopia. Due to the lack of proper
storage and transit facilities, milk and other agricultural produce, in remote areas loses
their value. This spoilage could be prevented at the local village level, by providing
cooling units for preservation

The objective of the research is to develop small scale milk pasteurizer and
preservation chiller that uses solar energy( solar water heater, thermal back-up system
and PV hybrid) with ice thermal storage for night cooling so that it can be transported
from rural areas where milk is surplus and spoiled for sale to urban areas.

The outcome of the research is a prototype of small scale milk pasteurizer and
preserver, improvement of the potential income of framers and pastoral communities
from sales of surplus milk which either spoiled or extravagantly consumed.

ii. Cogeneration of electricity and hot water using hybrid PV-T, solar water heater
and heat pump systems.
As heat pumps use 1kw of electrical energy and 3 kW of heat, heat pump water heater
is becoming popular, but requires electric power supply. Wherever PV is required to

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 generate electricity, water can be heated to 35-40 oC using PV-T (integrated PV and
thermal collector). This water can be further heated by solar water heater and heat
pump to 60oC.

The objective of the research is to determine the optimum combination of hybrid and
cogeneration system consisting of PV-T, solar water heater and heat pump to meet
electric power and hot water requirement throughout the year for off-grid clinics, and
lodges using computational model.

The outcomes of the research will be computational model that will determine the
number and capacity of the cogeneration systems and project to be implemented for
selected off grid clinics and lodges.

c) Cross cutting

i. Mitigation of Grid instability due to connection of wind and PV power plants and
supply and demand mismatch (peak load) by pumped storage plants.

The amount of wind power generation integrated in Ethiopia is about 10 % and more
wind farms and PV power plant will be integrated to the grid. The Grid in Ethiopia
has experienced severe instability due to peak load. Therefore, wind power and solar
power penetration in electrical power systems will increase. Thus, the impact of wind
power and PV power plants on the dynamics of power systems should be studied
thoroughly in order to identify potential problems and develop measures to mitigate
those problems such as introduction of pumped storage peak load power plants.

The objective of the research is to develop a computational model and simulate the
Grid and determine the current and future instabilities and develop feasible and
optimized mitigation measures for Ethiopia and other African countries.

The outcomes of the research will be a computational model, projects for

implementation by Electric power provider to mitigate Grid instability at present and
in specified time in future.

ii. Model development for rural electrification of a community with hybrid (solar, wind,
micro hydro, bio) mini grid system.

The combination of generation sources and components selected for a hybrid system
will have a real influence on the life time of the system and its affordability to end-
users. The generation component of a hybrid mini-grids system can consist some of
the following depending on the availability of resource in the area.

 Small or micro-hydro: Where a river with optimum flow rate and heads is
available, it can be the low investment cost solution
 Solar photovoltaic (PV) is suitable for almost any location which is
comparatively easy to install and maintain. But, its initial investment costs are

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 higher than those of other technologies and its operation is limited during off-
sunshine hours.
 Small wind power plant which is very site specific, since wind availability
vary from site to site and requires study of wind resources and has high
variability.
 Bio-fuel generator: Which requires a biogas plant, a biomass gasifier or
biodiesel production from local resources such as castor or jatropha seeds. The
generator set is important to ensure uninterrupted power supply or when the
demand is peak.

In addition to this energy storage system is required such as battery and/ or small
pumped storage micro hydropower plant.

The objective of this research is to come –up with optimum combination of the
different systems and their capacity depending on resource availability by developing
or adapting a computer model.

The outcomes will be the computer model for rural electrification with hybrid mini-
grid system and plot projects for implementation

3. TRAINING PROGRAM
The candidates must have M.Sc.in energy technology. The Ph. D. Program in Renewbale
Energy Technology will have course work and research components

The course work will consist of

 Energy system modeling

 Small and micro hydropower plant design or Solar based hybrid and cogeneration
Systems
 Elective relevant to the research
 Seminar I
 Seminar II

In the first year, students are expected to complete the course work and defend the research
proposal. The funded duration of the study shall be from three to three and years. But half a
year unfunded extension is possible.

The Dissertation shall be mainly in one of the areas listed in the research program and to
some extent in areas like bio energy and wind energy technology as well.

In the first three year period 6 students ( 4 Ethiopian and 2 from other African countries) will
be enrolled. The enrollment will continue after three years with other funding sources.

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 4. BUDGET

5. EXSISTING ANG PLANNED COLLABORATIONS

Collaborators Institution Research/Project Status

Areas
1 General Electric (GE) GE Renewables, Wind Technicians Existing
Mr. Daniel Hailu German & South Africa training center since 2017
GE Ethiopia, CEO establishment
daniel.hailu@ge.com GE Hydro, France Capacity building
in hydropower
(training and
laboratory
facilities)
1 Prof. Abraham Engeda Turbo machinery Lab, Micro Turbine Existing
Michigan State Development since 2015
University, USA
2. Prof. Ole Jorgen Nydal Process & Energy Solar system Planned,
Engineering 2018
NTNU, Norway
3 Prof. Lucy W. Irungu University of Nairobi, Renewable Energy Planned,
lirungu@uonbi.ac.ke Kenya 2018
4 Prof. Willie Cronje University of Renewable Planned,
willie.cronje@wits.ac.za Witwatersrand, South Energy 2018
Africa