Modeling and Analysis of Long-Term Shifts in Bioenergy Use-With Special Reference to Ethiopia : Improving Sustainable Development

Abstract: Ethiopia is one of the sub-Saharan Africa countries whose energy depends on traditional use of biomass such as wood, charcoal, agricultural residues and animal dung. The traditional use of biomass mainly wood and charcoal leads the country to massive deforestation and forest degradation. Negative environmental impacts from poorly managed municipal solid waste are also serious problems in the country. Moreover, there is a wide range of fossil fuels demand in the country fully covered by importing which results to a significant expenditure from the country’s budget. This study investigates the long-term shifts in bioenergy use of the country and evaluates the expected social, environmental and economical implications. For this purpose, three scenarios are formulated within a timeframe that goes from 2013 to 2030. The baseline scenario assumes the existing energy practices of the country would undergo no significant change in the future while the moderate shift and high shift scenarios consider the long-term shifts in bioenergy use with and without considering constraints respectively. In this context, long-term shifts means: transition from traditional use of biomass to efficient and modern in the household sector, biofuels deployment in the transport sector, introduction of agricultural residues as a fuel for cement production, and electricity generation from bagasse and municipal solid waste. To model and analyze the scenarios, the long-range energy alternatives planning system (LEAP) software tool is used. Taking the results of high shift scenario by 2030, the use of improved wood stoves and fuel switch stoves could save 65 million tons of wood. The foreign currency saving from using biofuels and agricultural residues as fossil fuels substitute would reach to 674 million USD. The greenhouse gas emissions reduction is equivalent to 46 million tons of CO2e which is about 18.4% of the CO2e abatement target of the country for 2030. The corresponding revenue from carbon trading schemes would reach to 231 million USD. Electricity generation from bagasse and municipal solid waste would be 3,672 GWh that is around 3.7% of the total electricity generation target for 2030.