Together with project partners Suntrace and Gauff Engineering, Energynautics has successfully completed grid impact studies for three large PV power plants in Ethiopia. The new PV power plants are part of the Ethiopian government’s Solar tender with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The grid impact studies examined the PV sites Gad-2 (125 MW), Humera (100 MW) and Weranso (125 MW). For the purpose of the analysis, the transmission grid model of Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) was reviewed and supplemented with the new PV power plants.

The following analyses were performed:

• Load flow analysis
• Contingency analysis
• Short-circuit analysis
• Dynamic analysis

The investigation showed that all PV power plants can be connected. In the specific case of Gad-2, different connection configurations were analysed to find the one with the least technical impact. In addition, the neighbouring country Djibouti was modelled in detail, since the Gad-2 PV plant is located in close proximity to the Ethiopian-Djiboutian border.

Furthermore, technical requirements for the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) were formulated to maximise the long-term benefits of the new PV power plants to the Ethiopian power system.