Techno-economic Feasibility Study of the Gunde Teklehaymanote Micro-hydropower Plant at Tindwat River, Central Gondar, Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a high potential for water for hydro-power development. Even though there is untapped potential, the country's electricity coverage is poor. This paper presents a technical-economic feasibility study of gunde micro hydropower at the Tindwat River, Central Gondar, Ethiopia. In the techno-economics study, the analysis was made for energy modeling, economic scenarios, and sensitivity, risk, and emission analyses. The study shows that this mini-hydropower project can be developed with an installed power of 18 kW, where the Kaplan turbine is recommended. The construction of small scale hydropower in the tindwat river is technically and economically feasible with total net present cost of US $ 253537, cost of energy $0.09/kWh, simple payback period of 5.9 years, and internal rate of return 23.9%. The result also shows that construction of hydropower curtails greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide by 588.65m3 of gasoil per year. It also showed that small hydroelectric power generation from Tindwat River would improve the electricity supply to Gunde Teklehaymanote monstery and off-grid rural communities.