Distributed Renewable Energy-Agriculture Modalities (DREAM)

The Distributed Renewable Energy-Agriculture Modalities (DREAM) project was launched to demonstrate the viability of solar mini-grids for delivering improved irrigation services, greater agricultural productivity and expanded rural electrification. The DREAM project will start with nine pilots that are scheduled to break ground in late 2022. These pilots will receive funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and the African Development Bank, and technical and institutional support from the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy, Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, and the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), Duke University, Keller-Bliesner Engineering, Veritas Consulting and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.

The James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke and the ATI have developed an economic viability tool to understand the likely impact of the solar mini-grid irrigation approach at the DREAM pilot sites. The model evaluates the potential savings from the interventions delivered by the DREAM project.

In partnership with the Haramaya University and other project partners, Duke will also evaluate the effects of the DREAM project on the resilience of the farming community at the pilot sites. This project will deploy a series of surveys from 2022 to 2024, to examine and analyse the outcome of the mini-grid intervention.

Team Members: Marc Jeuland, Jonathan Phillips, Liilnna Teji, Rahel Bekele

Students: Dhruv Jhaveri, Dylan Munson

Collaborators: Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy, Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute, The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Rockefeller Foundation, African Development Bank, Haramaya University, and Veritas Consulting