Renewables Ethiopia

8/2/2019 Renewables Ethiopia

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Stefan Heimann,

Addis Ababa 2007,

Berlin 2009

post stefanheimann.eu

www.stefanheimann.eu

Renewable Energy in Ethiopia

13 Months of Sunshine for a sustainable

Development

Stefan Heimann


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Table of contents

1. Introduction.....................................................................................3

2. Background.....................................................................................4

3. Potentials ........................................................................................7

3.1 Solar .................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Biomass............................................................................................... 9

3.3 Hydro................................................................................................. 10

3.4 Wind.................................................................................................. 11

3.5 Geothermal........................................................................................ 13

3.6 Energy efficiency ............................................................................... 14

4. Conclusion and Outlook................................................................17

5. Sources.........................................................................................20


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1. Introduction

13 Months of Sunshine is the slogan of the Ethiopian Tourism Commission. The

slogan refers to the Ethiopian calendar and with this to the unique Ethiopian culture.And it also gives a first hint on the potentials for renewable energy sources in this

country on the horn of Africa: In fact, the tropical sun in Ethiopia is strong! But, just

like most of such saying, this slogan is exaggerated: At least two of the 13 Ethiopian

months do not have much sunshine because of the rainy seasons. In these seasons

masses of water sweep down from the Ethiopian highlands and can be used for

hydro power generation. And solar radiation and water power are only two energetic

resources among several others like the hot springs in the enormous African Rift

Valley or the wind power resource in the mountains. The honoured reader might

already guess, that the potentials for renewable energy in Ethiopia is considerable.

Go beyond guessing: The following report provides an overview about the Ethiopian

energy supply system and the potentials for the various renewable energy sources.

The collection of the information for this report was done during the stay of the author

in Addis Ababa from September to November 2007. Additional internet recherch

and the summarising is done in 2008 and 2009 in Berlin. The goal of this work is to

provide basic information for all professional as well as non-professional readers who

are interested to learn about energy related aspects of this dynamic African country.


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2. Background

The present situation of energy use in Ethiopia differs fundamentally from the

situation in an industrialised country like Germany. In Ethiopia still approximately 70-80% of the primary energy share are taken from biomass. But the biomass, basically

wood which is processed to charcoal, is neither cultivated in a sustainable way nor is

it used efficiently. Deforestation and with it soil erosion, loose of farm yield potential

and desertification are the consequences. And up till now the gap between biomass

demand and supply is increasing constantly.

Cutover forests around Addis Ababa

Beside the energetic use of biomass, basically human and animal power are used for

mechanical activities like farming and producing. Further, about 80-90% of the

electric power is generated from hydropower, but only about 7-20% of the 80 Mio.

Ethiopians have access to electricity. Especially in rural Ethiopia the people very

often do not have any electricity and rely to kerosene fuel-based lighting. Kerosene's

emissions are extremely hazardous for health. If people in rural areas have access to

electricity, then it comes very often from diesel generators. In 2006, the energy

consumption per capita was assessed on about 32.94 kWh, which is extremely low

compared to most other countries in the world. In the same year, more that 80% of

the energy in Ethiopia was used in the household sector and 50% of all biomass fuel


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is used only for baking Injera, the traditional Ethiopian flat bread, which is eaten up to

three times a day. This unusual large share of the household sector is due to the lack

of industries in Ethiopia. Just like in most other countries in the world, the total energy

consumption in Ethiopia is increasing. The annual rate of growth for the use of

electric energy amounts up to 10 %. It is planed to expand the national grid and with

it to increase the share of the people who have access to electricity. But the goal to

offer electricity to all Ethiopians is still very far away. Electric power supply is in

Ethiopia completely in the hands of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation

(EEPCO), a state-owned monopoly company. The EEPCO is responsible for

generating, transmitting, distributing and selling electricity nation wide. With it, the

EEPCO also operates the main grid, the so called Inter Connected System (ICS),

which is fed by 8 hydro, 13 diesel generators (some for stand-by use only) and one

geothermal power plant, which is frequently out of order.

A hydro power turbine is the logo of the EEPCO

Beside the ICS, a large number of towns and villages remain within the Self-

Contained System (SCS), which consists of three small hydro power plants and

seven isolated diesel generating units. A share of the electric power generated in the

Ethiopian power plants is exported to Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti and, if ambitious

plans are believable, in the future some energy from Ethiopia will be even conducted

to Yemen across the Red Sea. So on the one hand Ethiopia is rich of energy. But on

the other hand Ethiopia heavily depends on imports of fossil energy sources and


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especially on oil because the country does not have many accessible fossil

resources.

Big-city traffic in Addis Ababa

And though fossil fuels account only for 5% of the primary energy consume, they cost

nearly 50% of the export earnings of this developing country. Therefore it seems tobe recommendable to extend a sustainable use of renewable energy sources in

case the required potentials are really given in Ethiopia.


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3. Potentials

As already mentioned, some potentials for a successful use of renewable energy in

Ethiopia are pretty obvious: The sun is strong (and burns the skin especially of us

white Ferenijs), a lot of water runs down from the highlands and several hot springs

can be found easily in the giant African Rift Valley. Beside these potentials, there are

also further reasons for a decentralised energy supply. These reasons refer to the

distribution of the Ethiopian population and to the infrastructure conditions of the

country: Since only about 10-20% of the Ethiopian population live in cities, a majority

of the Ethiopians still stay in Tukuls, the traditional round straw huts which are

arranged to very small villages. Ethiopia has with 1.1 million km2 approximately twice

the size of the biggest EU-country France and has only low standards of

infrastructure. In addition to this, the mountainous landscape of this huge country

makes it difficult and expensive to connect all households to the main grid. Due to

these reasons, decentral solutions for energy supply are in many cases suggested.

But these solutions should be designed in a way, which allows a connection to the

main grid - if this becomes possible in the future. Today, a lot of diesel generators are

in use in rural areas. But as these generators require expensive and not

environment-friendly fossil fuels, alternative energy sources with good potentials are

desired. Time for a closer look ...

3.1 Solar

Energy from the sun offers probably the best potential for a decentral insertion in

Ethiopia. Solar radiation can be used for example to run water pumping systems for

villages, to operate lighting systems for households, to heat water for cooking, to dry

straw, to use telecommunication systems and even to refrigerate for example

medicine in health centres. An assessment study indicated in 2002, that the average

daily solar radiation reaching the ground for Ethiopia as a whole is 5.2 kWh/m2.


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Solar radiation in Ethiopia

The strength of the solar radiation in Ethiopia is expected to be the highest category

of the world. Therefore the radiation can qualify to be the sole resource of energy for

the country. So sun energy can bring an important contribution to a sustainable and

decentral energy mix for Ethiopia. But many solar energy technologies are still rather

expensive - especially for a poor country like Ethiopia. Hence the use of photovoltaic

systems are only worth to generate electricity for island net systems which cannot

join the main grid.

Solar panels at Addis Ababa University


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In contrast to the expensive PV systems, solar thermal system are already affordable

today. For example concentrator cookers, the so called Solar Cookers, can provide

enough energy for cooking, which is the basic energy need of Ethiopia's population.

But as these cookers require direct sun light, cooking is only possible when the sun is

shining.

3.2 Biomass

Just like centuries ago, the energetic use of biomass is very common in Ethiopia. But

since the population is rising rapidly, the traditional use of this energy source leads to

serious ecological problems like deforestation and, with it, to soil erosion. Today,

modern biomass technologies can contribute to a sustainable and environment-

friendly energy supply in Ethiopia but the biomass needs to be used efficiently and

also the reaping of the plants has to be organised in a way that allows regeneration.

Since this is not the case, only a few plant species are able to regenerate fast

enough before getting cut down again. Therefore today already a large share of

Ethiopias fast shrinking forests consist of Eucaliptus trees. These trees were

imported from Australia by Emperor Menelik only about 100 years ago. It is a fast

growing plant, that is why it is used to cover Ethiopias huge biomass demand.

Eucaliptus trees in the Ethiopian highland


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But this monoculture of a foreign type of tree leads to several problems as acidity of

the soil. Beside the Eucaliptus trees, cow dung is still a common source for biomass

energy.

Like in other countries in the equatorial belt, the export orientated cultivation of

energy plants for bio fuels is booming in Ethiopia. Because of its mild and sunny

climate, Ethiopia has a great potential for growing especially sugarcane. But the

excessive cultivation and export of this profitable energy plants have also caused

several problems like the threat of nature reserves.

3.3 Hydro

Hydro energy is in the focus of the governmental actions for energy supply in

Ethiopia: Up to 90% of the electrical energy comes from water power plants. The

reasons for this are to be find in the climatic and geographic conditions of the

country: Ethiopia has a comparatively mild and rainy climate. Especially during the

main rainy season in July and August, a lot of rain falls on the Ethiopian highlands.

And this water flows down to the low lands and to the African Rift Valley water

which can be easily used for generating electricity. Beside this, one of the worlds

biggest rivers springs in Ethiopia: The beautiful Blue Nile arises close to the huge

Tana Lake in the north west of the country. A big hydro power plant is operating with

this stream. This plant is deactivate on weekends so that tourists can enjoy the

impressive Nile Falls.

The Nile Falls and the Nile hydro power plant


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Today, an Ethiopian and Chinese joint venture company builds the 10 th hydroelectric

power plant in the country. It is designed to generate 300 MW of electric power from

its three turbines.

Further, Ethiopia and the Nile abutting states Egypt and Sudan build a new huge

dam at the Blue Nile. From a political point of view, this is a historical step: Back in

the 90ties Egypt, whose water supply depends heavily on the water which the Nile

brings from Ethiopia, threatens Ethiopia with military attacks in case Ethiopia builds a

dam at the Nile. Today, this dam is already under construction and a share of the

generated electricity will be exported to Sudan and Egypt. But in December 2008, the

Ethiopian Minister for Energy had to tell, that the construction of this hydro plant will

take much longer than expected. However, this cooperation project can be seen as

an enormous success for a sustainable water and energy supply in the Nile region.

Beside large-scale power plants like this, hydropower can also be used in so called

mini and micro hydro plants which are designed to supply island networks in small

villages. Sometimes they are even transportable so that traditional nomadic tribes

can use them on their journeys.

Ethiopias potential for water power is definitely considerable. But it is necessary to

have a brought mix of renewable energy sources - especially in times of climate

change when rains become weaker and less reliable.

3.4 Wind

When there is no hydro there is wind, when there is no wind there is hydro. A good

match! This statement of a GTZ energy researcher about the climate conditions in

Ethiopia suggests that wind energy can provide an important contribution to a

sustainable energy supply. But until today wind power does not have a mentionable

share in Ethiopia's energy mix.


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Windmill at Addis Ababa University

By world's standard, Ethiopia's wind resources are not considerable for electric

power generation. But a feasibility study displayed a few years ago, that there are at

least three suitable places in Ethiopia for installing wind turbines. In one of those

places, the Ashegode area in the Tigray Regional State, the EEPCO has started to

build Ethiopia's first wind park which will feed in about 120 MW electric power in a

few years. Further onshore locations will be examined. Offshore places, which have

stronger and more permanent winds, are not available because Ethiopia is a

landlocked country since the separation of Eritrea in the nineties. But the huge Tana

Lake can have comparable wind conditions. And there are also further good locations

like mountains and hills, plains and gaps in mountains. An area of rather high windspeeds is located close to the capital Addis Ababa. Short distances to consumer

loads are important for an efficient and low-loss power supply, therefore this area is

especially capable for wind farming.

Wind power is not applicable for decentral island networks and therefore should be

fed into the main grid. Of course this assumes that the ICS is available. Grid

connected electric power from wind can replenish other energy sources and with it

can contribute to a sustainable and reliable energy mix.


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3.5 Geothermal

Geologically, Ethiopia has a great potential for the energetic use of heat from the

underground. This is mainly due to the great African Rift Valley, which runs through

the country. The Rift Valley is a huge rift and fault system that will divide east Africa

from the African continental plate in the far future.

The great African Rift Valley

In the Rift Valley there are still active volcanoes and also several hot springs. Hot

springs can be found everywhere in Ethiopia. They were even one reason for the

foundation of the capital Addis Ababa: About 120 years ago King Menelik's wife liked

the hot springs on the mild and green plateau which is today in the centre of this

African mega city. And because Ethiopians are very often Gentlemen, the first huts of

Addis Ababa, the new flower, were build around these springs.

Addis Ababa centre


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Though the geological energy potential is excellent, it is difficult to develop this

energy source in Ethiopia. A major problem is that high-tech equipments like

sonorous appliance and high-performance borers are required to access enough

heat for the generation of electric power equipments which are difficult and

expensive to import in a developing country. Beside the complicated developing of a

geothermal power plant, also the operating is technically challenging. That is why the

geothermal power plant close to the beautiful Langano Lake is frequently out of

order. This plant was the first geothermal plant in Africa and is until today Ethiopia's

only plant for geothermal electric power. Some foreign development organisations

like the German GTZ try to support the development of electric power from earth heat

in Ethiopia. But the GTZ assessed some years ago that the opportunity to access this

energy source for electricity within the next decades is rather low.

The thermal use of heat which comes from the underground near to the surface is

technically much easier. But this heat is to weak for generating electricity and also for

cooking - and heat for warm water and for space heating is a luxury which most

Ethiopians cannot afford. Essentially needed is electricity for lighting and operating

fridges and communication and information appliances like radios and phones. Last

but not least, a sustainable energy source for cooking the daily food is required.

Therefore geothermal heat near to the surface cannot contribute to the basic energy

needs for most of the Ethiopian population today. But geothermal energy from deep

and hot ground layers can offer the needed heat for cooking and also for electricity.

However it will take some more years of technical and political efforts to develop this

renewable energy technology for Ethiopia.

3.6 Energy efficiency

In comparison to most other countries in the world, Ethiopia has an extremely low

energy consumption per capita. And the country also has a large share of renewable

energy sources in its energy mix: Apart from the transport sector, which is almost

completely energized by fossil fuels (Ethiopia has only one very old and not really

reliable train track) and some diesel generators for rural electrification, the lion's

share of Ethiopia's energy comes from biomass (for heat) and hydro (for electricity).

Low energy consumption and the use of renewables are important indicators for asustainable and environment-friendly energy supply. But a major problem is that


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biomass, which covers 70-80% of Ethiopias primary energy demand, is used in a

very inefficient way. This leads to deforestation and with it to further environmental

problems like soil erosion. So on one hand still a lot of Ethiopians do not have access

to enough energy for their basic needs. And on the other hand a lot of energy is

wasted by using the resources in an inefficient way. Therefore energy efficiency can

be seen as a further and a very important energy source which has to be made

accessible. By improving the efficiency of motors and lighting systems, it is expected

that about 20% of the transport and industry energy can be saved. But the major part

of the countries energy consumption accrues in households. Therefore the domestic

sector has the greatest potentials for energy savings. Efficient light bulbs and further

energy efficient equipment like modern fridges could improve the household energy

efficiency and with it the economical situation of the people. But the most important

goal is to reduce the energy demand for cooking. 50% of the household energy is

spent for baking Injera, Ethiopia's national dish number one. Injera ovens, the so

called Mitad, are very often heated by charcoal which is processed of fire woods.

Electric Mitad oven for Injera


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Especially in the rural areas it is very often a simple open fire which bakes Teff paste

to the flat bread. Better insulations for these simple ovens could reduce the Ethiopian

energy demand and with it the deforestation and the loose of farming lands

significantly. A simple step with considerable results!


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4. Conclusion and Outlook

A sustainable energy supply is a basic need for Ethiopia: It is a very important

precondition for education, health, economic progress as well as for a reliable food

supply. Energy is also strongly related to the local, national and global environment:

The losing of forests, farm lands, wild life and whole eco systems and also the

dramatic impacts of climate change these are all consequences of non sustainable

energy generation and consumption. And these consequences are effecting

especially poor developing countries very hard.

Today, the energy household of Ethiopia is characterized by extremely low primary

energy consumption, low level of electrification and of infrastructure in general,addiction to fire woods and to imports of fossil fuels, single-edged dependence on

hydro power resources for electricity and low standards of energy efficiency. And the

environmental consequences of the polluting energy consumption are dramatic: In

Ethiopia about 200.000 ha forest cover is lost annually because people need to cut

trees for firewood. With it, about two billion square meters of soil is lost annually due

to erosion. And farm yield potential is reduced by 2% every year. This is fatal for such

a poor country which is still not able to cover its own food demand. And beside

environmental and agricultural consequences, the energy household has further

economical impacts: Though fossil fuels account only for 5% of the primary energy

consume in Ethiopia, they cost nearly 50% of the export earnings of this developing

country. And the world market prices are rising...

For people from the so called first world, it is very often hard to understand what it

means to be energy poor: Ethiopia is located close to the Equator, therefore days

and nights have the same length all year long. So not to have enough energy very

often simply means not to have light for 12 hours each day. And it also means neither

to be able to cook, nor to cool food or to heat up water and the home - not to mention

the use of phones, cars, radios, computers and other applications that we take for

granted.


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Traditional Ethiopian caf ceremony

But Ethiopia is also endowed with abundant renewable energy sources. To develop

these sources, further technical, scientific and political efforts are necessary. For

example the high custom tax rates on imported solar device must be decreased.

These high tax rates are a major reason for the problem, that a lot of people in the

rural areas cannot afford Solar Home Systems (SHS), which are designed to operate

a light system for a single hut and a few further applications like mobile charger. The

Ethiopian ministry in charge for taxation tries to legitimate the high custom tax rates

with a protectionist pointer on the Ethiopian solar manufacturing. But Ethiopia's

industry is weak developed and still far away from clean room technology which is

required for the production of many solar devices. Before thinking about protecting

the (nonexistent) national industry, capacity for installation, maintenance and repair

works should be build in Ethiopia.

Beside tax and vocational training policy, further political instruments like a feed-in

tariff law for renewable energy should be checked for Ethiopia. And not only such top

to bottom policy need to be adapted to new economic and ecologic challenges: Also

bottom-up, grass-roots democratic and civil society structures have to be developed

in Ethiopia. Today, the country still does not have many non-governmental

organisations and associations which engage for renewables. And up till now, the

oppressive Ethiopian government even exacerbate conditions for civil engagement.

However, developing the sustainable energy resources for Ethiopia does not mean to

push all renewable options blindly. All steps need to be checked carefully as


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especially the cultivation of energy plants for bio fuels causes huge environmental

problems in countries like Indonesia, Brazil or Argentina where priceless rain forest

areas are getting destroyed for farming space. The export orientated biomass

industries must be controlled and regulated by strict and binding rules.

All these endeavours might be hard but they are worth to be made: An efficient

energy economy based on renewable energy sources can lead to economic growth,

job and wealth creation, education and capacity building, health improvement,

independence from expensive imports of fossil combustibles, environment protection

and with it protection of agricultural resources and also of the nature heritage of

Ethiopia. All preconditions for a sustainable energy supply are given in this country

which is famous for its 13 Months of Sunshine...


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5. Sources

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Energy Sector, Dr. Demiss Alemu, Faculty of

Technology, Addis Ababa University, 2006

Renewable Energy & Development, Benjamin Jargstorf for the GTZ, 2004

Proceedings Symposium on Renewable Energies in Ethiopia, GTZ, 2004

Facts in brief 2006, EEPCO, 2006

50thGolden Jubilee, EEPCO, May 2007

Marketing Support for the Fuel Saving Injera Stove, Presentation of the GTZ Sun

Energy, 2007

Ethiopia Rural Energy Development and Promotion center, Rural Electrification

Fund, Ministry of Mines and Energy, January 2006

Die Lichtbringer kommen, Badische Zeitung, 28. April 2007

Solar Energy Research and Development Programme

Newspaper article Wind power to be generated in Tigray Region, ADDIS

FORTUNE, October 2007

Newspaper article on hydro power, ADDIS FORTUNE, September 2007

Further interviews (Rural Electrification Fund, EEPCO, Ethiopian Chamber of

Commerce, Addis Ababa University, GTZ) done by the Author in 2007

Renewables Ethiopia

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