Alemu, Demiss (PhD)Tamrat, Bimrew2018-07-022023-11-282018-07-022023-11-282007-07http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/5184Rural electrification has long been top on the development agenda of many developing countries. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the rural population in these countries did not have access to electricity. Electric light is still a luxury enjoyed only by a few in least developed countries like Ethiopia. The population living in uraban and semi urban areas connected to the national grid makes only 15% of the total. The remaining 85% of the population in scattered rural villages and have very remote chance to get electricity from the grid. The only realistic approach to electrify the rural areas seems therefore to be the off grid or self contained system. At present, diesel generation sets are popular and well known in the country. The contribution of renewable sources of energy like micro-hydro power, wind and solar energy to rural electrification are minimal. This thesis focuses on comparative analysis of feasibility of the three of the most well known renewable source of energy micro-hydro, solar photovoltaic and wind power generation for rural electrification.enThermal Engineering StreamThesis