Techno-economic Investigation of a Micro Hydro Power System for Rural Electrification: A Case Study of Lemere River, Hadya Zone, Ghibe Wereda
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Date
2022-04
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopia has a huge hydroelectric power generation potential due to the abundant water resources in the country. It is, therefore, necessary to use efficiently the sources in the country for the enhancement of electrical energy. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the viability of a standalone Micro Hydro Power plant from Lemere River in Hadya Zone, Ghibe Wereda.
The power produced from the proposed plant is supplied to Geseda village to power home appliances, community service centers, churches and micro enterprises. The power demand of the village studied in detail. The study shows that a minimum load of 0.06 KW between 12:00 – 5:00 AM and a maximum load of 46.9 KW between 4:00 – 5:00 PM.
The data required for the potential assessment of rivers were collected from the respective organization. Accordingly, the gross head, the design flow rate and power output of the site is found out to be 22m, 0.352m3/s, and 48KW respectively. The design of civil structures, selection of electromechanical equipment’s and also design of transmission system have been done. Additionally, the analysis and testing of this study were performed using RETScreen software tool to analyze and determine the Energy Model, Hydrology and load, flow duration curve of this potential site. The study is concluded by a sensitivity analysis properly adapted for the local market financial situation, in order to enlighten the decision makers on the expected profitability of the capital to be invested. According to the results obtained: The forebay was 12m in length and 1.2m in depth. Then finally penstock was 28m long with diameter of 386mm. The total cost of project was found to be 565,200USD, B/C ratio 6.2 and payback period 6.6 years. The result showed the viability of micro hydro power construction from the selected river Lemere.
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Keywords
Micro hydro power, design Flow rate, Head, potential assessment, sensitivity analysis, RETScreen