Using Satellite Data to Detect Diesel-powered Irrigation for Guiding Electrification in Ethiopia, Prof. June Lukuyu

Speaker: Prof. June Lukuyu, University of Washington
Title – Using Satellite Data to Detect Diesel-powered Irrigation for Guiding Electrification in Ethiopia

Abstract: In Sub-Saharan Africa, electricity access is progressing, but electricity use for economic growth remains stagnant. Powering economies sustainably is vital to enhancing livelihoods and is particularly challenging in agriculture-led rural economies, where the financial viability of electrification hinges on having sufficient demand to ensure sustainable revenues for utilities, which in turn provides economic benefits to consumers. Further, electrification planning in these regions has been stifled by the lack of accessible and reliable data. In this talk, I will present a technique for identifying areas with diesel-powered irrigation activity in Ethiopia based on remotely sensed data and a supervised classification machine learning approach.

Bio: June Lukuyu is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington. She recently received her Ph.D. in ECE at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Systems Technologies from Loughborough University. Her research focuses on how to develop and plan for inclusive and sustainable energy systems and technologies for underserved communities, centering on promoting social development, sustainability, and human empowerment.