DIRE DAWA UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE
OF
TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGIINEERING

Individual Assignment Of Hydropower Engineering

Name: Abdi Mohamed Husein

ID: DDU1003905

Submitted To:………………………………….
Submission Date:…………..
 Question 1#: Discuss the power plants in Ethiopia

POWER PLANTS IN ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia has a final energy consumption of around 40,000 GWh,

whereof 92 % are consumed by domestic appliances, 4 % by transport
sector and 3 % by industry. Most of the energy supply thereby is covered
by bioenergy, which in case of domestic use is usually stemming from
unsustainable sources. The produced electricity of ~ 9000 GWh is mainly
generated by hydro energy (96 %) followed by wind energy (4 %), whereof
in total 11 % get exported. In contrast the major share of energy supply for
transport is imported in forms of petroleum.

Due to favorable conditions in Ethiopia (water power, wind

power, photovoltaic, geothermal energy) for power generation, the country
avoids exploiting and importing fossil fuels as much as possible. As
Ethiopia is a quickly developing country, the demand for electricity grows
by 30% each year. This result in a very dynamic situation with many power
plants being planned simultaneously or being under construction.

Ethiopia is endowed with renewable energy sources. These include first of

all hydro, but also wind, geothermal, solar as well as biomass. Only a small
portion of the potential is harnessed today. Due to its fast economic growth
the energy demand is increasing enormous. Therefore it is expected to rise
by a rate of 10 -14 % per year till 2037.

Today only 27 % of the rural populations have access to electricity grid.
This share is increasing due to an extension of the national grid on the one
hand, and an increasing number of Stand-alone-systems and Mini-grids on
the other hand.

In the following we will discuss several power plants in Ethiopia and the
lists provide all power plants within the Ethiopian national power grid
(Ethiopian InterConnected System (ICS)). In addition, listed are all ICS
power plants under construction, under rehabilitation or in stand-by-mode.
And finally it lists all ICS power plants in planning stage which are foreseen

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(or are given chances) to be going into the construction stage until 2025. All
ICS power plants are administered by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

1. HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT

The Ethiopian government has for long recognized that economic progress
will depend principally on the development of the hydropower resources of the
country.
Ethiopia's hydropower potential is estimated up to 45,000 MW and is the
2nd highest in Africa (only DR. Congo has a higher potential). Approximately
30,000 MW is estimated to be economically feasible which is equivalent to
an electricity generation of 162 TWh. The total production of the above
mentioned hydropower plants is 1,469.0 GWh/yr(2.5%.) 

 In general, Ethiopia’s terrain is advantageous for hydropower projects.

With 10 river basins (of which the Blue Nile, Omo and Wabi Shebelle, and
Genale-Dawa are international rivers), hundreds of streams flowing into the
major rivers dissecting the mountainous landscape in every direction; and
each river basin covering massive catchment areas with adequate rainfall,
Ethiopia is said to be the “Water Tower of Eastern Africa”.

Besides, the mountainous landscape in the western half and some

southern parts of the country makes many of the nation’s hydro resources
suitable for hydro-electricity generation of varying sizes, i.e., ranging
from pico hydro to small and large hydropower plants. Small-scale hydro
schemes are particularly suitable in remote areas, which are not connected
to the national grid. The total theoretical potential for micro hydropower
schemes is 100 MW.

Like all other natural resources, Ethiopia’s hydro resources are unevenly
distributed over its land mass. Generally speaking, the amount of rainfall
and topographic conditions suitable to hydro-electricity generation, i.e.,
head decrease as one moves away from west to east until it gets totally
arid, flat desert-type in the Ogaden lowlands. While rainfall is in relative

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abundance in the western and southern parts of the country, it gets
moderate in the northern highlands and central plateau.

Ethiopia’s hydropower potential has an important contribution to make to its

immediate neighbours. Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea, as
they constitute a readily available market for hydro-electric power within the
region. Some of these countries are already facing power shortages and
hence are in dire need of electricity to power their economies. As of 2007,
EEPCo was undertaking small projects aimed at exporting hydro-electric
power to neighbouring Sudan and Djibouti .

Since Ethiopia uses a classification of hydropower systems which differs

from other countries, the following chart shows the Ethiopian definitions.

Table 1.

The following are hydropower plants in Ethiopia and their brief information.

A) ABA SAMUEL: is hydroelectric power plant located on Akaki river 20 KM south

east of Addis Ababa.  The reservoir was created in 1932 to produce 6 megawatts
of electricity for Addis Ababa, and production continued until 1970 when the
machinery became too old to maintain and the plant stopped working.

 Aba-Samuel reservoir catchment area is 1,495 km², and includes the catchment

of the Lege Dadi dam.The type of hydroelectric facility the Aba Samuel is known to be
is the run-of-river, also called the diversion, which employs the method of "diverting" the
water into some sort of canal, then leading it through the turbines.

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B) TIS ABAY I HPP: is hydropower plant located chara chara, Amhara region in
Ethiopia.  Location coordinates are: Latitude= 11.4887, Longitude= 37.5999. The
plant is installed with the capacity of 11.4 MW. It has one unit, which was

commissioned in 1964.

C) Awash I(KOKA) HPP: Hydroelectric Power Plant Ethiopia is located at Awash

river East Shewa Zone, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia. Location coordinates are:
Latitude= 8.4684, Longitude= 39.1588. The reservoir has an area of 180 square
kilometers. This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity
of 43 MW. The Koka dam consists of concrete with a length of 458 meters and a
maximum height of 47 meters. It has 1 unit(s) were firstly commissioned in 1960. It
is operated by Ethiopian Electric and Power Company.

D) Awash II HPP: Hydroelectric Power Plant Ethiopia is located at Awash river

Melkasa, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia.  Latitude= 8.3932, Longitude= 39.352. This
infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity of 32 MW with
catchment area of 2.73 square kilometers and dam height of 10 meters . The plant
were firstly commissioned in 1966.

E) Awash III HPP: Hydroelectric Power Plant Ethiopia is located at Awash river
Melkasa, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia.  Latitude= 8.3932, Longitude= 39.352. This
infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity of 32 MW with
catchment area of 0.063 (weir) and dam height of 10 meters. The plant was firstly
commissioned in 1971.

F) FINCHA HPP: Is Hydroelectric Power Plant Ethiopia is located at Head of Lake

Tana, Oromiya, Ethiopia. Location coordinates are: Latitude= 9.558, Longitude=
37.3663. This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity
of 134 MW. With catchment area of 170 square kilometers and dam height of 20
meters the plant has 4 unit(s). The first unit was commissioned in 1974 and the
last in 2003. It is operated by Ethiopian Electric and Power Company.

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G) MELKA WEKENA: Is Hydroelectric Power Plant located at SE of Addis Ababa,
Oromia region, Ethiopia. Location coordinates are: Latitude = 7.1761,Longitude =
39.4311. This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity
of 153 MW. With catchment area of 5300 square kilometers and dam height
of 42meters the plant has 4 unit(s). The plant was first commissioned in 1989. It
is operated by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).

H) TIS ABAY II: Is hydroelectric power plant located on the Abay River, some 32
km down stream of Lake Tana at site where the riverbed suddenly drops by
approximately 45 meters; thus creating the well-known Tis Issat Water Falls. This
infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity of 75 MW with
catchment area of 16300 square kilometers and weir dam height. The plant was first
commissioned in 2001. It is operated by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation
(EEPCo).

I) TEKEZE HPP: is Hydroelectric Power Plant located at Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Location coordinates are: Latitude= 13.3492, Longitude= 38.74049.
This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity of 300 MW
with catchment area of 30,390 square kilometers and dam height of 188 meters. It has 4
unit(s). The first unit was commissioned in 2009 and the last in 2009. It is
operated by Ethiopian Electric and Power Company.

J) GILGEL GIBE I HPP:  is hydroelectric power plant located at 260 km South West
of Addis Ababa. Location coordinates are: Latitude = 7.83487, Longitude =
37.3236.This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity of
184 MW with catchment area of 51 square kilometers and dam height of 41 meters.. It
has 3 unit(s). The first unit was commissioned in 2004 and the last in 2004. It is
operated by Ethiopian Electric and Power Company.

k) GILGEL GIBE II HPP: is hydroelectric power plant located at 260 km South West
of Addis Ababa. Location coordinates are Latitude =7.75712,
Longitude = 37.5624 This infrastructure is of type Hydro Power Plant with a design
capacity of 420 MW with weir catchment area and dam height of 46.5 meters. It has 3

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unit(s). The first unit was commissioned in 2004 and the last in 2004. It is
operated by Ethiopian Electric and Power Company.

L) GILGEL GIBE III HPP: is Hydroelectric Power Project roller-compacted

concrete dam with an associated hydroelectric power plant on the omo
river in Ethiopia. it is located about 62 km (39 mi) west of sodo in
the southern nations, nationalities, and peoples' region.  Location coordinates
are: Latitude= 6.84722, Longitude= 37.3014.This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro
Power Plant with a design capacity of 1870 MW with weir catchment area 34,150
square kilometers and height of 243 meters. It has 10 unit(s). The plant was first
commissioned in 2015-2016. It is operated by Ethiopian Electric Power
Corporation (EEPCo).

M) TANA BELES: is  Hydroelectric Power Plant Ethiopia is located at Tana Lake,

Amhara, Ethiopia. Location coordinates are: Latitude= 11.8196, Longitude=
36.9181. This infrastructure is of TYPE Hydro Power Plant with a design capacity
of 460 MW with weir catchment area 14200 square kilometers and height of 35
meters. It has 4 unit(s). The first unit was commissioned in 2010 and the last in
2011. It is operated by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).

In addition to above hydropower plants the following are also under construction
or planned hydropower plants.

-Gibe IV (1472 MW) and Gibe V (560 MW) dams.

- GENALE DAWA III AND GENALE DAWA IV

- Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (6000 MW) etc.

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 2. SOLAR POWER PLANT
Ethiopia receives a solar irradiation of 5000 – 7000 Wh/m² according to
region and season and thus has great potential for the use of solar energy.
The average solar radiation is more or less uniform, around 5.2
kWh/m2/day. The values vary seasonally, from 4.55-5.55 kWh/m 2/day and
with a location from 4.25 kWh/m2/day in the extreme western lowlands to
6.25 kWh/m2/day in Adigrat area, Northern Ethiopia is still at its early stage.

Until recent times use of PV for meeting off-grid power needs was confined
to projects funded by donors. UN organizations such as UNICEF and WHO
are few examples that had supported projects that use PV based
technologies (distance-education radios and vaccine fridges) in remote
rural areas.

Ethiopian telecom  is the major user of PV solar in the country. It uses PV
solar to power its remote rural telecom installations and this application has
grown several times in recent years. As of 2007, there were about a dozen
PV dealers in the capital. Almost all of them do PV as a side business; and
the majority of them do everything from import down to installation.

Solar photovoltaics is being promoted to replace fuel-based lighting and off-

grid electrical supply with a solar panel assembly plant opening in Addis
Ababa in early 2013. The majority of the Ethiopia's population live in rural
areas and very few have access to electricity.

 Metehara photovoltaic power plant in the Oromia region, around 200 km

from Addis Abeba is an example of solar plants. Once built, the 100 MW
AC power capacity solar park will produce over 280 GWh per year and
reduce CO2 emissions by 296,000 tons annually.

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 3. WIND POWER PLANT
Ethiopia has good wind resources with velocities ranging from 7 to 9 m/s Its
wind energy potential is estimated to be 10,000 Mw. The
Ethiopian National Meteorological Services Agency (NMSA) began work
on wind data collection in 1971 using some 39 recording stations located in
selected locations. Ever since the establishment of these stations, wind
velocity is measured and data made available to consumers. However, the
number of stations established, quality of data (in terms of
comprehensiveness) and the distribution of the stations leaves much to be
desired.
Seasonal and daily variation in wind velocity is also considerable; wind
velocity is higher between early morning and mid-day and in terms of
seasonal variation, in the highland plateau zone there are two peak
seasons – March to May and September to November; and in the eastern
lowlands wind velocity reaches its maximum between May and August. In
most of these places, maximum wind velocities are 3 to 4 times greater
than the minimum. Medium to high wind speed of 3.5 to 6 m/s exists in
most Eastern parts and central Rift Valley areas of the country. Perhaps
due to their mountainous terrain and land use/land-cover type, most
western and north-western parts of the country have generally low wind
velocity.

The following table shows several wind power plants in Ethiopia.

Wind Location Installed No of turbines
farm
Operational status
capacity
(MWe)
Adama I Adama
51 34 Effective since 2012
AYSHA I AYSHA
120 80 Under construction
AYSHA II AYSHA
120 48 Under construction
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 ASHEGODA Hintalo
wajirat 120 84 Effective since 2013
ADAMA II Adama
153 102 Effective since 2015
Table 2: wind farm in Ethiopia.

4. FOSSIL FUELS
Ethiopia is not an oil producing country as yet. Nevertheless, prospecting
and exploration studies conducted since 1960s indicate that there are
proven reserves of oil and gas that can be exploited at a commercial scale.
The energy resource potential of the country includes several hundred
million tons of coal and oil shale, and over 70 billion cubic meters of natural
gas.More fossil fuels prospecting and exploration studies are currently
underway by certain international petroleum companies in some parts of
the country.

Based on study findings thus far, the eastern lowlands of Ogaden desert,
has the highest potential for oil and natural gas development in Ethiopia.
These included Kalub gas and Hilala oil fields. In fact, currently,
development and infrastructural works are thoroughly underway in some of
these fields, heralding the-much-awaited-news that Ethiopia’s long dream
of exploiting some of its fossil fuel resources is going to become a
‘reality’ sooner than later.

Extreme west of the country, more specifically the Gambella region, is

another area where potential for fossil fuel reserves are often said to be
significant. Unlike the Ogaden region where exploration started some four
decades ago, the Gambella region is a more recent entry (less tan 10
years) to the list of potential sites to be studied in detail. The official stand
of the government and the exploration companies regarding the outcomes
of their exploration works is that the wells that have been dug up thus far
turned out to be dry. However, despite some political disturbances that
persisted in the area; and causing several hick-ups to the initiative, the

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exploration work has continued in localities adjacent to the Sudanese
border

5. BIOMASS
Biomass resources include wood, agro-industrial residue, municipal waste
and bio fuels. Wood and agricultural as well as livestock residue are used
beyond sustainable yield with negative environmental impacts.

According to estimates made by a recent study, at the national level, there

appears to be a surplus of woody biomass supply. However, the same study
revealed that there is a severe deficit of supply when the data is
disaggregated to lower local levels. According to this same study, 307
Woredas (districts) out of the total number of 500 Woredas are consuming
woody biomass in excess of sustainable yield.

Ethiopia’s biomass energy resource potential is considerable. According to

estimates by Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic Planning Project
(WBISPP), national woody biomass stock was 1,149 million tons with annual
yield of 50 million tons in the year 2000. These figures exclude biomass fuels
such as branches/leaves/twigs (BLT), dead wood and homestead tree
yields.

Owing to rapidly growing population, however, the nation’s limited biomass

energy resource is believed to have been depleting at an increasingly faster
rate. Regarding the regional distribution of biomass energy resources, the
northern highlands and eastern lowlands have lower woody biomass cover.

The spatial distribution of the "deficit" indicated that areas with severe woody
biomass deficit are located in eastern Tigray, East and West Harerghe, East
Shewa and East Wellega Zones of Oromiya and Jigjiga Zone of Somali
Region. Most of Amhara Region has a moderate deficit but a small number of
Woredas along the crest of the Eastern Escarpment have a severe deficit.

There is however an energy production potential from agro-processing

industries (processing sugar cane bagasse, cotton stalk, coffee hull and oil
seed shells. Up to date, no grid-connected biomass power plants exist.
Several sugar factories have however been using sugar cane bagasse for
station supply since the 1950s. A total of 30 MW of capacity surplus could be
fed in the grid by sugar factories [. Municipal waste and bio fuels on the other

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hand are barely used as energy resources. No estimation of municipal
waste power production potential is available at the time, power production
potential of landfill gas is estimated to be 24 MW.

6. GEOTHERMAL
Ethiopia’s geothermal resources are estimated to be 5 GW of which 700
MW are suitable for electric power generation. Geothermal resources are
primarily located in the Rift Valley area, where temperatures of 50 – 300°C
prevail in a depth of 1,300 – 2,500 m.

Only one 7.3 MW geothermal power plant has been commissioned so far,
which started operating in 1998/1999 but was shut down due to lacking
technical maintenance in 2002 . Operation was taken up again, but only at
a much reduced generation rate. Exploration of geothermal resources is
still ongoing

The energy conversion efficiency of geothermal energies is low, at 10-15%,

so that the released thermal energy is much larger than the obtained
electrical energy. But thermal energy does not cost anything, so a low
energy conversion efficiency does not hurt.

A total of ~520 MW is planned at the Corbetti site, with 10 MW under

construction in the years 2018-2019 (Corbetti I) financed by equity. Almost
simultaneously, Corbetti II with 50-60 MW will be developed, based on debt
financing.
 After these two first phases, a simple GO decision by the stakeholders is
required to start the construction works of Corbetti III to add another 440-60
MW until 2025.
In parallel to the construction works at the Corbetti site, it is foreseen to
start working at the Tulu Moye geothermal sites with ~520 MW in four
phases, Tulu Moye I with 50 MW until 2021 and after a GO decision, Tulu
Moye II-IV with 470 MW (see planned geothermal projects below) until
2027.
The total concession package agreed on between the Ethiopian
government and the project stakeholders allows for the development of
1020 MW of geothermal energy at the respective sites.

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Question 2# : The first power plant in Ethiopia was built in 1932 which is ABA
SAMUEL on Akaki river 20 KM south east of Addis Ababa.

Question 3#: List the power plants in the world.

There are many types of power plants which are from conventional or non
conventional sources of energy in the world. The folowig are some of these
plants.

Nuclear Power Plants:

Using a nuclear fission reaction and uranium as fuel, nuclear power plants
generate a high amount of electricity.As nuclear power plants are considered to be
a low-carbon energy source, the technology is widely thought of as a more
environmentally-friendly option.When compared to renewable sources of energy
such as solar and wind, the power generation from nuclear power plants is also
considered to be more reliable..Nuclear energy sources also have a higher density
than fossil fuels and release large amounts of energy. Due to this, nuclear power
plants require low quantities of fuel but produce a vast amount of power, making
them particularly efficient once they are up and running

Hydroelectric power plants:

Hydroelectricity is produced by harnessing the gravitational force of flowing

water.Compared to fossil fuel-powered energy plants, hydroelectric power plants
emit fewer greenhouse gases. But the construction of hydroelectric power plants
and dams requires huge investment.

According to the International Hydropower Association’s 2017 Hydropower Status

Report, an estimated 31.5 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower capacity was put into
operation in 2016, bringing the world’s cumulative installed capacity to 1,246 GW.

Coal-fired power plants:

Coal-fired power plants use steam coal as a source to generate electricity and
consequently emit a significant amount of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
According to the World Coal Association, coal-fired power plants accounted for

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about 37% of global electricity in 2018, with China possessing the world’s largest
fleet.
Diesel-fired power plants

Using diesel as the fuel, this type of power plant is used for small-scale production
of electric power. They are installed in places where there is no easy availability of
alternative power sources and are mainly used as a backup for uninterrupted power
supply whenever there are outages. Diesel plants require only a small area to be
installed and offer higher thermal efficiency compared to coal-fired power plants.
Due to high maintenance costs and diesel prices, the power plants have not gained
popularity at the same rate as other types of power generation plants such as steam
and hydro.

Geothermal power plants

The three main types of geothermal plants include dry steam power stations, flash
steam power stations and binary cycle power stations, all of which use steam
turbines to produce electricity. The installed capacity of geothermal energy has
gradually increased worldwide over the past decade, up from just short of 10 GW
in 2010 to almost 14 GW in 2019.
Geothermal power plants are considered to be environmentally friendly and emit
lower levels of harmful gases compared with coal-fired power plants.

Gas-fired power plants

A gas-fired power plants burns natural gas – a rapidly growing energy source
across the world – to generate electricity. Although natural gas is a fossil
fuel, the emissions produced from its combustion are much lower than those from
coal or oil, according to a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Another type of plant that uses gas is a combined-cycle power plant. Using both
gas and steam turbines, they produce higher amounts of electricity from a single
fuel source compared to a traditional power plant.

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Solar power plants
Solar energy plants convert energy from the sun into thermal or electrical energy
using one of the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy sources. They
generally do not require high maintenance and last for about 20 to 25 years.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global solar
power capacity will increase by 9% each year between 2018 and 2050, in which
time it will grow from 480 GW to more than 8,000 GW. But the initial costs
involved in financing solar power plants are high and the installation requires a lot
of space.

Wind power plants

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the number of wind farms across
the world, underpinned by technological advancements.
Global installed wind-generation capacity onshore and offshore has increased by a
factor of almost 75 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5 GW in 1997 to 564
GW by 2018, according to the IRENA

Tidal power plants

Tidal energy is generated from converting energy from the force tides into power
and its production is considered more predictable compared to wind energy and
solar power. But tidal power is still not widely used, even though the world’s first
large-scale plant of its type became operational in 1966.

Question 2# : The first power plant in Ethiopia was built in 1932 which is ABA
SAMUEL on Akaki river 20 KM south east of Addis Ababa.

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