Rural electrification planning using Geographic Information System (GIS).

Rural electrification plans are a means of enhancing electricity services in a given area within a given period of time in accordance with pre-defined strategies. Establishment of prioritization concepts on the basis of objective criteria provides important indications for practical energy development. The choice of the most suitable electrification option with the given context is vital in energy planning. In developing countries, it's difficult to electrify a sparsely populated community. Lack of scientific and methodological know-how in regards planning, site selection, distribution and density of population settlement, economic level, and distance from the national grid are main factors to lowest electrification rates in Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this study is to study the introduction of renewable energy systems as a possible alternative for rural electrification by using geospatial technologies in South Gondar Zone. Data like sunshine hour/irradiance, wind speed, slope, land use-land cover, protected areas, water bodies, forest, and towns are collected and analyzed with ArcGIS. These data are used to identify optimal electrification options for particular areas in four districts of the Zone. The weighting factors of these criteria are also determined using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This weighted and reclassified values are multiplied to produce the final map of electrification options. From the final results obtained, study area covers 5226.289 square kilometers from which 2897.742, 2836.134, and 802.003 square kilometer area is suitable for electrification using solar, wind, and grid extension, respectively. Solar energy is the optimal options for most of area in the Zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]