Getachew Bekele Beyene
Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/ecp11057826Published in: World Renewable Energy Congress - Sweden; 8-13 May; 2011; Linköping; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 57:11, p. 826-833
Published: 2011-11-03
ISBN: 978-91-7393-070-3
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Shortage of electric power is a serious problem in Ethiopia. As recently as the year 2009 electric power supply in the country including the capital Addis Ababa; was at best every other day for several months. Until recently; the sole power producer in the country; Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) produces a total of 800 to 900 MW of power for a country with a population of about 80 million. This clearly shows as to what the shortage would look like.
In this regard; this study investigates the possibility of providing electricity from solar/wind based hybrid standalone system for remotely located people detached off the main grid line. Within the hybrid system setup PV panels; wind turbines; a bank of batteries and for a backup diesel generator is included. The wind potential of the area has been assessed in a previously published article. The solar potential has also been investigated in another article awaiting publication. It is based on the findings of the solar and the wind energy potential that this study is carried out.
A model community of 200 families; comprising of approximately 1000 to 1200 people in total is considered for the study. A community school together with a health post is also included. The electric load comprises of lighting; water pumps and other small appliances.
For the techno-economic analysis in the feasibility study of the hybrid system the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) HOMER software is used. Given all the necessary inputs to the software; the results showed a list of feasible electric supply systems; sorted according to their total net present cost (NPC). Cost of energy (COE in $/kW); penetration level into the renewable resources (renewable fraction); the number of liters of diesel oil used by the generator and also the generator working hours is also given out in the results table. The greenhouse gas emission level of the system is also incorporated within the results.
Furthermore; a sensitivity analysis is carried out for the major sensitive components of the hybrid system. The major sensitive components of the system recognized are the changing price of PV panels and the ever hiking price of diesel oil. From the results it is concluded that the solar energy potential is the most promising resource that can be utilized.
Wind Energy potential; Solar Radiation potential; Primary Load; Deferrable Load; Net Present Cost (NPC)
