Modeling and simulation of a micro-hydropower system for rural electrification (a case study of Temecha river, Amhara region, Ethiopia)

Abstract

It is well known that, there is an imbalance of electricity demand and supply in Ethiopia. Development of the Micro hydro power (MHP) system is an important technology to solve the problem. The main objective of this study was to do modelling and simulation of a micro-hydropower system for rural electrification in the case of Temecha River, Ethiopia. Yearly flow data were collected from Ethiopian Basins Development Authority and used to estimate the design flow rate. Next, modelling and simulation were done by using MATLAB SIMULINK. Some of the SIMULINK results were power and flow duration curves, and others. The nethead and design flow rates were found to be16.34m and 0.5731m3/s, respectively. Based on the preliminary analysis, the turbine selected for the site is a Kaplan turbine. It is found that, the power output of this system is greater than the electricity demand of the selected site for 346 days of the year. Thus, the systemic found to be efficient in terms of generated electrical power as compared to similar works reported in the literature. The scale of the design can be re-modified to be implemented in other remote areas having river resources.