The solar pump comes to Ethiopia:
The pickup proved to be much more difficult than planned. Initially, there was no English version of the pump's invoice, which was hastily made and mailed to Addis.
Subsequently, a precise kilogram list of components in the box should be presented. When it finally arrived by mail as well, customs officials complained that the papers presented were not original papers (the Ecopia team's prints in Addis were too poor in quality). Important for the overall understanding is that the arrival to customs each time consumed considerable time and only with passport and personal checks at the airport area it was possible to get the goods, so it included a half-day action. So much time was lost. Only with our arrival as a group on 18 October (2 days before departure to Chencha) we were able to submit the original papers (good color printouts). Finally, on the last day before departure, we were patient enough to receive the pump box just in time, which, however, brought new difficulties: after all the formalities had been completed, the solar pump in the customs hall was not found. It took more than an hour to finally find the big, heavy box with the solar panels, the wiring, the controller and the pump. The box itself contained all the original papers and invoices. Unopened.
During the night, the box from the headquarters in Addis Ababa was taken by truck to Chencha along with many other items of equipment.
Installation of the solar pump in Chencha:
After our arrival in Chencha, we proceeded with the installation: as a mast for the installation of the solar panels and the associated controler (distributes the power to the pump or regulates the sensors in well and target tank), we had to use a large, heavy eucalyptus trunk Engraving struts over a meter deep. The power and control center was installed at a flood-safe distance from the river on a slope.
For the recovery of water, the small river had to be dammed first. For this purpose, we used a concrete slab, which was already made during the last project trip and was very suitable as a dam. With a funnel and hose, the water is extracted from the river and directed further below the river into a well. For this serves a buried barrel that can be closed with a lid. This barrel has 3 lateral openings: a water inlet, an overflow leading back to the river and a discharge hose from the pump to the tank. The drum is equipped with a 24V pump with a mechanical sensor at its side, which prevents the pump from sucking air when it is lacking water and thus does not suffer any damage.
The solar panels produce from about 7 o'clock in the morning (insolation beginning of the sun) to 18 o'clock in the evening (sunset) between 35 to 70V direct current. The panels are oriented 17 ° to the south, as this is the average angle of radiation of the midday sun (depending on the latitude - Chencha is 6 ° north latitude) thus allowing the optimal energy yield. Since in these latitudes the daylength hardly fluctuates in the course of the year, 11 hours of energy production can be expected year round, which is sufficient for the promotion of water for house and property.
The approximately 120m long water pipe, which spans about 20 vertical meters from the well, has been laid by us on masts raised, so that no damage to the hose and the control cable of the target tank sensor arise. The water distribution tank is provided by a 1000-liter water tank, which is slightly elevated for pressure to the water tank at the house, in the shower and for irrigating the fields. The control cable is connected to a sensor located at the top of the boiler, which turns off the pump when the bin is full.
Insofar as is now intended as for plenty of water on the site worried (only drinking water must be purchased). For sustainable use, we have prepared an English maintenance manual and trained the staff that the pump also serves its purpose permanently. In addition, maintenance tools were left in Chencha.
Two other problems can still be solved in this context: firstly, the pumping capacity and the pressure in the water tank are not enough to bring water to the house. Second, the water to the shower is now full of pressure, but at the same time cold, because we had to reduce the compost as a water heater. For both problems we are looking for a solution for the next project trip 2013.
The planning of the large-scale solar plant in 2013:
The goal is still to install a 12kw system to supply the main house so that the cooking places, light and sockets are supplied in the house with 220V.
We draw a basic lesson during the import process of the solar pump to Ethiopia: the import of the entire solar system with all panels and structural components are for two reasons unthinkable: costs and our bad experience with the ethopian custom. But without a solar system we wont have a current production in Chencha. So before departure we investigated a company that sells solar systems directly in Ethiopia. On the Internet we found a company called "Green Power Africa" which is located in Ethopia. But on the website we couldn't find any phone number or address. Any contact attempts went unanswered. So before our departure we had a big problem and no solution which would be crucial for the future success of the project. But we had found a solar energy company in Ethiopia!
How we found the contact to Green Power Africa:
We knew we had to find this Ethiopian solar company. Previous research by the Ecopia local teams in Addis failed. A business directory does not exist in Ethiopia, Internet contact attempts failed, it looked like the literal search of the needle in the haystack. For your own research only two days where left before departure to Chencha. In addition to the collection of the solar pump at customs we had this big task but we were quite clueless what we should do about it.
So we filled our time with a visit to the German Embassy School in Addis Ababa as the two children of Mitslal Kifleyesus Matschie attend this school. Mitslal had organized a meeting with the classes 9 and 10 for us.
On Friday, 19/10, which was one day before leaving to Chencha, we were very welcomed by the students and the teachers of the school. In the last hour before the autumn holidays we informed the two classes about our project. It was an inspiring hour in which we put our own project plan again to the test. At the end of the day, the question arose as to whether any student was presenting a possibility of contacting an Ethiopian solar company. But then Brooke from the 10th grade told us that his uncle (Ambaw Bezabeh) is the head of Green Power Africa ... Incredible!!! ... we found the needle!
Email addresses and phone numbers were exchanged quickly and we called Mr. Bezabeh. The next lucky fact: he had no appointments and was there for us this afternoon. So we met him at the headquarter of Green Power, a high-rise building with large signboard and large offices. As we stood in front of it, it was hard to believe that this company can only be found by luck.
Ambaw Bezabeh did met us with a technician, Fasil Alemu, in his office and was very interested in our project. After a relaxing and very professional exchange we made plans to visit Fasil in Chencha during our stay. Fasil wanted to see the development of the facilities of Ecopia in Chencha and wanted to see what requirements are needed for the planned solar system. On Thursday, 10/25 we had a very cordial visit of Fasil in our warehouse in Chencha. We spent one day with the expert planning. He told us yet that Green Power Africa is very interested and that the planned grid system with batteries and the power supply is an important step in the realization of solar energy in Ethiopia.
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