Project Trip October 2025

We are approaching our expansion target in Tula. In February 2025, a large group was able to complete important work on this: partial construction of a grid-supporting ‘balcony system’ on the roof of the Tula school (currently 2.4 of 4.8 KWp), preparations for the recommissioning of the wind turbine in E-Haus I, safety work on the solar roofs and initial assessment of a previously unknown part of the village (Gambo Village). The village community also decided on a special arrangement to connect 10 nearby huts in the neighbouring community of Morsito. It was also decided to increase the electricity payments from 40 to 60 Ethiopian birr (EB) in order to secure the financing of maintenance staff. The project trip in October 2025 was intended as a limited interim action with a small travel group.

The objectives of this October trip were as follows:

1. Installation of a wind turbine charging control system in E-House I and re-commissioning of the wind turbine
2. If necessary, repositioning of the wind turbine and mechanical inspection and painting of the rotor blades
3. Installation of an automatic (energy-saving) night-time shut-off system in E-House I and II
4. Research/planning regarding a separate energy system in the valley village of ‘Gambo Village’
5. Checking electricity revenues, the ‘master renewal’ project and the special new connections ‘Morsito’
6. Creation and distribution of a laminated information sheet for all electricity users

Thanks to the large tunnel tent with a spacious vestibule, we can eat our meals sheltered from the cold, rain and wind and store our equipment safely (thank you, dear Jürgen Reinhard, for this gift, which we have been using as our indispensable headquarters for years!).

Every evening, the host family invites us into their round hut, where we enjoy coffee and roasted grains (kollo) or kotcho (a baked mixture made from plantains) in the company of the entire livestock. In keeping with tradition, we present the family with a bar of chocolate every evening.

Also, the innkeeper Adisso was delighted if we visited his pub ‘Trumpet Cafe’ in the ‘Trompete’ area (a name we gave it) to visit his pub ‘Trumpet Cafe’ and have a beer or down an Ethiopian schnapps (the schnapps is called Araki, has nothing to do with the Greek variety, tastes more like a mixture of cabbage and car tyres and is served generously from an aluminium teapot; just under 100 ml cost us the equivalent of €0.06 cents). In honour of the establishment, I was then handed a trumpet (our gift a few years ago, as we gave the place its name), on which I then played one or two songs. This year, we were able to install a solar spotlight with a motion detector at the entrance to the pub, which made the wife of the landlord, Adisso, so happy that she performed a little dance.

The weather: The days were characterised by mixed weather, mostly fine during the day but often windy, with occasional rain showers. The nights were mostly stormy, and the mornings were sometimes foggy, wet and cold.

In January 2025, there were still around 18 huts to be connected in Tula, including the 10 special connections for the Morsito huts beyond the large meadow. This connection work has now been completed by our local technicians (with the help of our extension cables), meaning that the grid expansion in Tula has been completed.
In the E-House I area, 160 huts are connected, including the school, village administration and Mekane Yesus Church. In the E-House II area, 100 huts are connected.
The large church has had a separate system since 2024. The valley village of Gambo Village (12 huts) is to receive a PV-supported separate system in 2026.

Wind energy is significantly more complicated to manage than solar energy. A solar system has a defined peak voltage or peak power and can simply be switched off or short-circuited in the event of an energy surplus without causing any damage. The output of a wind turbine is much more variable in stormy conditions. The machine must never be switched off, as it could ‘explode’ when running freely at maximum speed. For example, when the batteries are full, it must be ‘fed’ gradually with a back-up supply in order to keep the wind turbine under control. Heating resistors serve as an alternative consumer. To regulate this in a targeted manner, an electronic load shedding control system is required that detects power surges and then switches heating resistors on or off, step by step. This slows down the wind turbine or releases it again slightly.

Such a circuit (programmable thresh-hold switches with power contactors, very classic) was designed in Rüsseina and has now been installed in Tula. To prevent customs from seeing the entire circuit, we dismantled it before transport and distributed all the individual parts in various suitcases. It then had to be completely reassembled in Tula. We were able to put the control system into operation during trial runs. It worked perfectly. A big thank you goes to our two electrical engineers, Andreas Ritter and Tino Hannß, for their thoughtful and comprehensive installation of the electrical control centre! The system successfully passed an endurance test during a stormy night, which it handled without any problems.

However, it became apparent that we still need to make a mechanical improvement to the wind turbine: After the generator head with rotor moves upwards into a kind of helicopter position during heavy gusts of wind (mechanical load limitation), it often lands too hard when lowering back into the horizontal position (due to low rotor speed), which means undesirable mechanical stress for the entire system. Solving this problem will be the task of the next action in January 2026. In order to avoid placing unnecessary mechanical stress on the wind turbine, we have shut it down again (until January). By then, the bird's nest in the machine should also have been removed.

During the test night in question, it became apparent that the night-time energy reduction in the batteries was significantly increased by the wind turbine input, allowing the start of the new (sunny) day with a battery that was still well charged. The combination of wind and solar energy – night-time wind + solar energy during the day – proves to be an extremely useful addition here.

In recent years, we have noticed that many consumers in the village apparently leave lights and appliances switched on throughout the night. Last year, for example, we recorded consumption of over 600 watts at 2 a.m. This year, it was significantly higher, so that with an average daily consumption of approx. 30 kWh, 19 kWh were consumed in one night alone (admittedly on a Saturday). This means that the batteries are almost empty at the start of the new day. Despite all the warnings, this consumer behaviour has not changed.

That is why we announced back in January 2025 that we would install an automatic night-time shut-off, which we have now implemented in both E-houses. Our village technicians have expressly approved this measure. After consulting with the inverter distributor Victron Energy in Döbeln, Andreas Ritter reprogrammed both inverters and successfully installed both circuits. This significantly reduces the load on the batteries at night. However, electricity is still available in both electrical substations during the shutdown phase. The night-time shutdown can also be bypassed with a switch, if necessary (village festival, etc.).

During installation in electrical House II, a software error in the inverter that had been preventing charging via the diesel generator for some time, was also fixed.

In preparation for the 2026 campaign, Sammy Lantzsch was able to assemle a sufficient number of house fuse boxes. The hinged plastic boxes are from the toy department at Ikea. They contain a separable fuse for the house connection (only 500 mA for power limitation).

Sammy Lantzsch was also able to sew a filter bag (amidst great interest from various girls). It is designed to minimise the entry of dust into the E-converters (step-down converters for wind power).

In February 2025, it was agreed with the technicians that they would replace dilapidated electricity masts one by one. We offered a maintenance bonus of 200 EB/per mast (equivalent to £1.20) for this. The technicians have replaced 50 masts. Many masts still need to be replaced.

For example, many eucalyptus trees were felled on an access road within the village in order to widen the road. The overhead line running parallel to it was badly damaged in the process. The bushes had been cut down and left to fall directly onto the line, which was then crushed under the branches. It is a miracle that no cables were torn. Other masts in the village are leaning or are only held up by the cables.

We will strive to ensure that every family has a mast. We will introduce the ‘charcoal method’ for preservation.

In January, important village elders confirmed in my presence that the electricity contribution would be raised from 40 to 60 EB. When I asked whether this had been done, there was some hesitation followed by the statement that the contribution had been raised to 55 EB. There had been a misunderstanding. When I asked how the money was being used, I was given the following explanation:

From the contribution made by each household:

• 40 EB goes to the three technicians (equivalent to a monthly wage of 3,466 EB per technician)
• 15 EB goes to the three guards

This would distribute the entire amount of electricity without creating any reserves. We have repeatedly made this very clear: without savings, the system cannot function in the long term. We will not give them any money. This brings us back to one of the most difficult questions: in this natural society, reserves were not needed for thousands of years. People could get what they needed from nature at any time. Building up reserves is somehow not part of people's thinking here. Our proposal was to collect at least 60 EB and put 5 EB of that into reserves. We will have to keep pushing hard on this issue.

As two larger invoices from Addis Ababa are still outstanding, the total expenditure for this project phase in October 2025 can only be estimated. Including the preliminary expenses for the control technology, the total expenses for the October 2025 project will amount to approximately 8,000.00 Euros. However, this already includes expenses for 2026 (Gambo Village) amounting to approximately 4,500 euros (cables, PV).

In January 2026, a decisive and relatively extensive phase of action is scheduled, which – if all goes well – will enable us to complete the expansion of Tula (on our part).

1. Purchase of batteries in Addis Ababa
2. Structural modifications to the wind turbine (tilting device, see point 7. 1.); inspection and, if necessary, replacement of the bolting on the slewing ring; painting of the rotor blades.
3. Completion of the PV ‘balcony system’ at the school (12 PV panels)
4. Installation of PV panels on the roof of the residential building in Gambo Village; construction of a small electrical station and installation of the technology
5. School project ‘Workshop for pupils’: This project must be officially initiated by the school authority.
6. Relationship with Hossana University: Can cooperation be established? To do so, the Mekane Yesus Church must go through the university administration.

Tula could then become a showcase for ‘independant energy solutions’ in Ethiopia. It is particularly well suited for this purpose, as we will have implemented three different models in Tula by then:

1. A ‘large-scale solution’ for a large number of huts (areas E-House I and II)
2. A ‘small solution’ for a small village (Gambo Village)
3. A separate solution for a single larger building complex (large church)

As both campaigns in 2025 have almost depleted our association's reserves, we will need considerable funds once again for the final push in 2026 (especially for the batteries; estimated total of €14,000). We can only raise this money through a concerted fundraising campaign. A call for donations will be made in November 2025.

If you would like to support us now, here are our account details:

Windenergie Äthiopien e.V. :
LKG Sachsen/KD-Bank
IBAN DE81 350 601 901 600 076 015
Purpose: Donation to the Tula/Ethiopia energy project
(please include your full name and address so that we can issue a donation receipt)

All of our activities in Ethiopia are only possible thanks to the financial support of many private donors and local companies. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to them!
We would also like to thank our project participants for investing their money and time in this charitable work.