OPPORTUNITIES TO USE WIND ENERGY TO PUMP WATER IN THE RURAL SETTLEMENTS OF ETHIOPIA
JOSEF OUBRECHT, OSMAN ABDULSHEKUR
Abstract
The majority of rural settlements in Ethiopia are
in remote places to which access is difficult. Access roads from main roads
to such places are difficult to ride. To extend the electricity grid to such
locations would not pay off because of the low numbers of population and the
long distances. To use Diesel sets to pump water is several times more expensive
than to use wind. The windspeed must be at least 2.4 m.s'1 for the wind engine
to work. All the six stations tested meet this requirement during the course
of the growing season of the crops. The pumping station has a simple design
to transmit the torque straight to the reciprocating movement of the pump's
piston (no gearbox needed). The efficiency of the transmission is very high.
A wind pump with a wind wheel about 6 m accross enables the farmer to provide
supplemental irrigation for one to seven hectares of land to support at least
two crops in one calendar year.
Because it is impossible to extend wires to the remote areas and because it
is too costly to use Diesel oil to generate electricity, it is necessary to
find suitable places where wind-driven pumps can be installed to provide water
for irrigation, for the farmer's family and the livestock. In the evenings the
wind power can generate electricity for lighting and enable to use radio and
TV sets and other appliances with a low electricity demand.
Key words:
supplemental irrigation, wind energy, wind energy
usage, wind wheel, wind wheel performance