Pico-Hydropower

This report assesses the outcomes, benefits, and challenges resulting from the programmatic construction of six micro-hydropower projects in Lamjung district of Central Nepal, which was supported by Lutheran World Relief working in partnership the local NGO-Partner COPPADES. This report is based on an ethnographic study conducted during August 2014 that was designed to identify and consider a) the varying social, economic, environmental, and political effects of these projects at the household and community level, b) the contributions that these micro-hydropower projects are making to future economic development in the study area, c) the ways in which Lutheran World Relief can support and increase local benefits from these projects in the future, and d) the relevance of project outcomes and report findings within the context of larger patterns of hydropower development in Nepal.

This study, therefore, presents findings that are both unique to the process and outcomes of these four specific micro-hydropower projects and reflective of the changing role and value of micro-hydropower development within the changing landscape of hydropower development in Nepal (Dixit and Gyawali 2010), intensive shifts in rural livelihoods that change the needs and desires of individual communities, such as rapidly accelerating patterns of outmigration and foreign employment (Adhikari & Hobley 2011; Sijapati & Limbu 2012), and increasing climactic and hydrologic uncertainty in the face of climate change in the Himalayas (Erikkson et al 2009; Pomeranz 2013). Thus, in this report I will argue that the issues and concerns that shape the process of micro-hydropower projects are fractal manifestations of issues that shape much broader fields of political economy in Nepal.

— Hydropower is an eco-friendly clean power generation method. Myanmar has enormous hydropower resources about 108,000 MW. This study discusses the hydropower technologies based on the considerations of hydraulic turbine and hydroelectric generator for pico-hydropower range (low-head) development. Fixed-blade axial-flow propeller turbine and single-phase salient-pole synchronous generator are selected according to their characteristics in this paper. These machines are directly coupled to eliminate the speed increaser loss. Compact, reliable and cost-effective design of 2kW Pico Hydropower system is tested with both resistive and inductive loads. Keywords—Hydropower, Fixed-blade axial flow propeller turbine, salient-pole synchronous generator, directly coupled, Pico.

Thanks to their efficiency and simplicity of contruction, breastshot water wheels represent an attractive low head hydropower converter. In this work, a breastshot wheel is investigated by numerical simulations, and the results are validated with experimental tests. The average discrepancy between the numerical shaft torque and the experimental torque is lower than 5%. The numerical model is then used to investigate the performance and the hydraulic behavior of the wheel for different numbers of blades (16, 32, 48, and 64 blades) and at different hydraulic conditions. The increase in efficiency from 16 blades to the optimal blades number ranges between 12 to 16% in function of the hydraulic conditions. Empirical laws are also reported to quantify the improvement in efficiency with the blades number. These laws can support the design process of similar breastshot water wheels. The optimal blades number for this kind of wheel is identified in 48.

The clean renewable energy technology development should be on the top government program priority in present day, as the current energy availability and environmental challenges over the majority in the use of the unclean conventional power technologies. University has potential role to support the clean renewable energy development through research activities. This study deals with designing the clean renewable power technology based on a horizontal axis shrouded river current for experimental purpose in Halu Oleo University Indonesia. To fulfill this objective, some parts on the turbine unit are designed to be adjustable, thus, possibly making the process for the experiment. The method utilized in this study is the combination of literature review, mathematical model use, design and manufacture on the turbine. The result of this study is a unit of the horizontal axis shrouded river current turbine in which some of its parts, such as the shrouding device and the blade angle, are adjustable for the experimental purpose.

The renewable generation is one of the fast growing power system .Whereas the world is facing the challenge of effectively exploiting and utilizing renewable energy resources, not only to meet the increasing energy demand, but also to preserve and to reduce the depletion of fossil fuels and to lessen the amount of CO2 emissions in our atmosphere .The national energy generation resources of every country plays an important role in the development. The energy transition is well underway in most European countries. It has a growing impact on electric power systems as it dramatically modifies the way electricity is produced. In this paper, our focus is to perform a systematic review of hydropower resource potential around the Globe. In this study we will address three research queries: 1) what is the existing status of hydropower resource potential around the globe? 2) What kind of methodologies frameworks and approaches are used for exploiting and utilizing renewable energy resources 3) What are the limitations of exploiting renewable resource potentials. The purpose of the study is to highlight the current research issues, to provide valid solutions to these issues and to find out the limitations of existing work in this area of hydropower resource potential. This will be done by performing quantitative literature analysis of different databases and all the results will be gathered by analysing the statistical data using "SPSS". Remedial techniques for handling the limitation of usability engineering management will be planned in future.

The article describes the widespread use of an estimated 60,000 low-head pico-hydropower turbines and well-developed networks of supply and support in the Northern part of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This apparent widespread use is contrasted with the policy narratives of key actors in the government, multilateral organisations and the private sector which show an often simplified and overly negative attitude towards pico-hydropower. Based on empirical research carried out in three upland districts and the capital, Vientiane, the paper critically investigates the apparent disjuncture between policy and practice by placing pico-hydropower within the broader political context of rural electrification in the Lao PDR. It is argued that the neglect of pico-hydropower and other off-grid household electrification technologies is a result of an endemic lack of information on which to base policy decisions, the orientation of the government to facilitate large scale foreign investment in large hydropower dams, the universal applicability of solar home systems, and the broader state agenda of centralisation and control over service provision to remote upland areas.

The local rural electric power generation is necessary to promote progress of the localities especially on those hard to reach communities. The Philippine archipelago is rich in water resources, harnessing this ample amount of water is enough for irrigation and electrical generation especially on those far located areas that are hard to reach by electrical grid connection system. This paper presents an alternative source of electrical energy. The designed pico-hydro power generation system is well suited in remote areas where the transmission of power seems to impossible. To maximize the designed concept, the Pelton turbine is utilized because it is suited especially in the Philippines for high and low flow rate of water. Moreover, an IoT-based system that can easily monitor any unwanted problems. This pico-hydropower system is much economical compared with other sources of electricity.

The main aim of this research is to design and develop LED based lighting system by using Pico hydro power. The proposed system is to use renewable energy to generate power in remote areas. The system is designed in a small scale which capable of lighting up a LED and sustain power when turbine stop to rotate. Reaction turbine is selected to be the suitable model for this Pico Hydro System (PHS). The performance of the system is tested by changing the materials for the blades and determines the suitable number of blades for the system to perform at maximum efficiency. Additional features, such as displaying generated voltage and flow rate has been implemented. It is observed that, the system could generate maximum voltage of 5.46V at the head height of 65 cm with flow rate of 5.51 L/Min. A total of 4.62 watt of net electrical power generated from this PHS, the value is obtained by using theoretical calculation. Finally, the system proves to be efficient in terms of generated voltage and cost, as compared to the journals which is reviewed in the literature. The scale of the design has to be remodified to be implemented in river areas.

The article describes the widespread use of an estimated 60,000 low-head pico-hydropower turbines and well-developed networks of supply and support in the Northern part of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This apparent widespread use is contrasted with the policy narratives of key actors in the government, multilateral organisations and the private sector which show an often simplified and overly negative attitude towards pico-hydropower. Based on empirical research carried out in three upland districts and the capital, Vientiane, the paper critically investigates the apparent disjuncture between policy and practice by placing pico-hydropower within the broader political context of rural electrification in the Lao PDR. It is argued that the neglect of pico-hydropower and other off-grid household electrification technologies is a result of an endemic lack of information on which to base policy decisions, the orientation of the government to facilitate large scale foreign investment in large hydropower dams, the universal applicability of solar home systems, and the broader state agenda of centralisation and control over service provision to remote upland areas.

This article shows the characteristics, use, and interventions of market-driven pico-hydropower turbines in the Lao PDR to emphasise the importance of building on local knowledge, distribution and support networks for rural electrification. Privately owned pico-hydropower (<2 kW) is the most prolific form of off-grid rural electrification in the northern provinces of Laos. Its relatively wide utilisation relies on the extensive network of Chinese and Vietnamese traders and Lao shop owners to distribute the turbines and the spare parts, and on local knowledge of end-users on the choice of the location, installation, use and load management of the systems. Despite its comparative advantages over solar home systems, diesel generators, micro-hydropower, and other forms of off-grid rural electrification, there are some issues related to safety, load management, seasonality, and the supply chain. The ongoing interventions by the pico-hydropower team at the Lao Institute for Renewable Energy (LIRE) to overcome these issues are used as an example of an approach that builds upon the local knowledge, distribution and support networks of pico-hydropower in Laos. These include ways to share and disseminate information, the implementation of a 2 kW community picohydropower system as a demonstration of best practice for replication, testing turbines and accessories, and policy advocacy.

Hydropower is not only a renewable and sustainable energy source, but its flexibility and storage capacity also makes it possible to improve grid stability and to support the deployment of other intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. As a result, a renewed interest in pumped-hydro energy storage plants (PHES) and a huge demand for the rehabilitation of old small hydropower plants are emerging globally.

The local rural electric power generation is necessary to promote progress of the localities especially on those hard to reach communities. The Philippine archipelago is rich in water resources, harnessing this ample amount of water is enough for irrigation and electrical generation especially on those far located areas that are hard to reach by electrical grid connection system. This paper presents an alternative source of electrical energy. The designed pico-hydro power generation system is well suited in remote areas where the transmission of power seems to impossible. To maximize the designed concept, the Pelton turbine is utilized because it is suited especially in the Philippines for high and low flow rate of water. Moreover, an IoT-based system that can easily monitor any unwanted problems. This pico-hydropower system is much economical compared with other sources of electricity.