The current status, challenges and prospects of using biomass energy in Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite enormous challenges in accessing sustainable energy supplies and advanced energy technologies, Ethiopia has one of the world's fastest growing economies. The development of renewable energy technology and the building of a green legacy in the country are being prioritized. The total installed capacity for electricity generation in Ethiopia is 4324.3 MW as on October, 2018. Renewable energy accounts for 96.5% of total generation; however, despite the county's enormous biomass energy potential, only 0.58% of power is generated using biomass. Ethiopia has surplus woody biomass, crop residue and animal dung resources which comprise about 141.8 million metric tons of biomass availability per year. At present the exploited potential is about 71.9 million metric tons per year. This review paper provides an in-depth assessment of Ethiopia's biomass energy availability, potential, challenges, and prospects. The findings show that, despite Ethiopia's vast biomass resource potential, the current use of modern energy from biomass is still limited. As a result, this study supports the use of biomass-based alternative energy sources without having a negative impact on the socioeconomic system or jeopardizing food security or the environment. This finding also shows the challenges, opportunities and possible solutions to tackle the problem to expand alternative energy sources. The most effective techniques for producing and utilizing alternate energy sources were also explored. Moreover, some perspectives are given based on the challenges of using efficient energy production and sustainable uses of biomass energy in Ethiopia as it could be also implemented in other developing countries. We believe that the information in this review will shed light on the current and future prospects of biomass energy deployment in Ethiopia.

Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Biomass Self-Sufficiency in the European Union

“…The estimation results indicate that the core explanatory variable (i.e., agricultural and forest land share) has a positive effect on the biomass self-sufficiency ratio; this means that an increase in the share of agriculture and forestry in the total land area increases the biomass self-sufficiency ratio. This finding is in line with the findings of Ladanai and Vinterbäck [68], Field et al [69], and Benti et al [29], who stated that land availability is crucial for the future since energy from biomass depends on it. Biomass is defined as, potentially, a main source of energy.…”

“…For instance, Spero [26] examined the self-sufficiency in energy supply in the context of American national security policy as early as 1973. Recently, the concept of energy self-sufficiency is increasingly explored in scientific literature (e.g., country-level studies are performed by Welfle et al [27], Saghir et al [28], and Benti et al [29]).…”

Household Solid Fuel Use and Associated Factors in Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis of Data From 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

“…Scarcity of wood leads to intensive use of agricultural residues and animal dung for cooking, which could otherwise have been utilized to improve the nutrient status and texture of the soil. 36 In addition, indoor air pollution caused by the use of solid fuels causes lung and eye diseases, and the health expenses are larger than the costs of alternative fuels. 37 The reason for this could be that solid fuels produce microscopic particulate debris that can accumulate in the lungs.…”

“…In rural areas, the wood need is met via collecting, but urban residents meet their demand by purchasing. 36 The majority of rural Ethiopians rely on the free collection of woody biomass, crop leftovers, and animal excrement. However, today’s overuse of wood creates an overload on a country’s plants.…”

Human exposure to indoor air pollution in Ethiopian households

“…In this review, we focused on the variation in IAP emissions and human exposure from unimproved and improved stoves. The details on fuel usage for these stove types and related environmental degradation, as well as their design, efficiency, and acceptance level, were detailed in Adem and Ambie (2017) , Benti et al. (2021) , Gebreegziabher et al.…”