Assessment of Hydropower Potential of Selected Rivers in North Shoa Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Energy generated by the force of water in hydropower can provide a more sustainable, non-polluting alternative to fossil fuels, along with other renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar and tidal power, bio-energy and geothermal energy. Small-scalehydroelectricity in Ethiopia is well suited for “off-grid” rural electricity applications. Micro-hydropower which is hydro energy in a ‘small’ scale provides electricity to small communities by converting hydro energy into electrical energy. The purpose of this paper is to assess the micro-hydroelectric potential of different rivers in North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, especially rural communities, 5Km far from main grid. From the 22 woreda towns found in north shoa zone only 9 of them with 11 rivers were assessed. Based on the head and flow rate measurements all the studied rivers have the potential to generate electric power, with the result ranges between 5.51 kW to 52.19 kW. These results were estimated for 80% hydropower generation, which are more than 5kW. Therefore, all of the assessed river sites are sufficient for micro-hydro power generation with through study on proper site location and socio-economic aspects