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Utilization of solar and wind energy for rural
water supply in Ethiopia
Osward Chanda, Acting Director for the Department of Water and Sanitation; Nancy Ogal, Senior Water and
Sanitation Engineer; Franz Hollhuber, Principal Water and Sanitation Engineer, African Development Bank
A
pilot project has been launched in Ethiopia with the
objective of providing experience on the use of solar
and wind energy for water pumping, to demonstrate
how the systems should be best designed and implemented
and to popularise the use of renewable systems within
the sector and the communities. The business of water
and sanitation in Ethiopia is included in the Growth and
Transformation Plan-2, 2016–20, and one of the major strat-
egies to implement water supply solutions is to increase the
use of solar and wind energy technologies.
The project design focused on piloting and promoting the
use of solar (photovoltaic) and wind energy for the purpose
of water supply in the rural areas of Ethiopia, and initiating
development of long term investment in these technologies
under the government’s Universal Access Programme (UAP).
This was on the understanding that acquired know-how and
confidence in solar and wind pumping technology would
ensure an increased and sustained supply of water with a
better economic, environmental and social value than small
to medium sized fossil fuel powered pumping systems.
The African Development Bank’s African Water Facility
supported the pilot programme at a cost of Euro 1.99 million
for the supply and installation of the pumps, comprising
about 70 (40 solar and 30 wind) pumping systems, to be
implemented in four regions within the Rural Water Supply
and Sanitation Programme in Ethiopia, namely: Oromia,
Amhara, SNNPR and Tigraye. Complementarity, implemen-
tation of pipe laying, reservoir construction and maintenance
of public fountains were the responsibility of the government.
Development impact
Whereas it was expected that an estimated 130,000 people
would be served by these water supply schemes, at completion
a total of 67 (49 solar and 18 wind) pumping systems were
contracted and completed in four regions, serving approxi-
mately 120,000 people, 50 per cent of which are women. The
project has shown that solar and wind systems are a valid
solution for pumping water in rural areas of Ethiopia. Solar
systems, now a mature technology, have proven to function
very well. The reported shortcomings were mainly due to a lack
of exact data provided by the woredas (administrative divi-
sions of Ethiopia) on the bore holes at the design stage, such
as depth, static water level, drawdown, yield and water quality.
To ensure sustainable operation of the installed systems in
the pilot project, 49 community members were trained for
the installation, operation and maintenance of the system
and 69 water committees were trained on revenue collection.
Additionally, staff from regional, zonal and woreda offices
participated in theoretical training sessions on solar and
wind systems provided by the supervising consultants under
the contract. The capacity building consisted of two sessions
with 70 participants per session (3 per cent of whom were
women) each running over six days. On-the-job training was
also provided by the project contractors to regional, zonal
and woreda water sector experts during the installation of the
pumping systems, specifically one woreda technician and two
community technicians for each site (40 per cent being women).
There is also increased involvement of the private sector
in water services provision in rural areas. Two local private
firms were contracted to design, deliver and install the solar
and wind pumping systems. The capacity of the local contrac-
tors and their staff has strengthened considerably, given their
involvement in the project implementation and it is expected
that they will be able to operate independently in the sector.
The project created awareness in the broader water sector
and within communities at all levels. Woreda staff confirmed
to the Project Completion Reporting (PCR) mission that
numerous communities had expressed a desire for installing
solar pumping systems following successful operations of the
completed systems located in their immediate neighbourhoods.
A noteworthy multiplier effect resulting from participation of
local firms is the upsurge of different NGOs installing solar-
powered systems in the country through the private sector.
Benefits of the project
•Communities have opened their own small businesses
•Income-generating activities have been created such as growing
crops in the water point areas
•Job opportunities have arisen
•Residents claim to have an improved income
•The government can now consider changing all diesel-driven
pumps to solar and wind pumps where the sites are amenable
•The government has included the use of solar and wind pumps in
the Growth and Transformation Plan-2
•Similar developments have been catalysed
•Other development partners and NGOs are considering the
application of solar and wind energy pumps.