IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v33y2008i6p1379-1391.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microhydro: Cost-effective, modular systems for low heads

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander, K.V.
  • Giddens, E.P.

Abstract

This paper is an overview of a program that is in the final stages of developing a modular set of cost-effective microhydro schemes for site heads below those currently serviced by Pelton Wheels. The rationale has been that there is a multitude of viable low-head sites in isolated areas where microhydro is a realistic energy option, and where conventional economics are not appropriate, especially in Third World countries. The goals of this project have been to provide low-cost, soundly based turbine design solutions that systematically cover the 0.2–20kW supply, that are uniquely resistant to debris blockage and are easily built by tradesmen of medium skills in regional workshops. The paper presents the results as a matrix of the most cost-effective penstocks matched to modular turbines using established electronic controls. It discusses practical issues of site selection and options for sites where exact matches are not achieved. It has been an object of the program to establish a benchmark for cost-effectiveness in the microhydro field.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander, K.V. & Giddens, E.P., 2008. "Microhydro: Cost-effective, modular systems for low heads," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1379-1391.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:33:y:2008:i:6:p:1379-1391
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2007.06.026
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148107002364
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2007.06.026?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhou, Daqing & Gui, Jia & Deng, Zhiqun Daniel & Chen, Huixiang & Yu, Yunyun & Yu, An & Yang, Chunxia, 2019. "Development of an ultra-low head siphon hydro turbine using computational fluid dynamics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 43-50.
    2. Jiaxin Yu & Jun Wang, 2020. "Optimization Design of a Rain-Power Utilization System Based on a Siphon and Its Application in a High-Rise Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Alexander, K.V. & Giddens, E.P. & Fuller, A.M., 2009. "Axial-flow turbines for low head microhydro systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 35-47.
    4. Payambarpour, S. Abdolkarim & Najafi, Amir F. & Magagnato, Franco, 2020. "Investigation of deflector geometry and turbine aspect ratio effect on 3D modified in-pipe hydro Savonius turbine: Parametric study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 44-59.
    5. Şerban, I. & Marinescu, C., 2011. "Aggregate load-frequency control of a wind-hydro autonomous microgrid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3345-3354.
    6. Stark, B.H. & Andò, E. & Hartley, G., 2011. "Modelling and performance of a small siphonic hydropower system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2451-2464.
    7. Cobb, Bryan R. & Sharp, Kendra V., 2013. "Impulse (Turgo and Pelton) turbine performance characteristics and their impact on pico-hydro installations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 959-964.
    8. Williamson, S.J. & Stark, B.H. & Booker, J.D., 2014. "Low head pico hydro turbine selection using a multi-criteria analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 43-50.
    9. Giosio, D.R. & Henderson, A.D. & Walker, J.M. & Brandner, P.A. & Sargison, J.E. & Gautam, P., 2015. "Design and performance evaluation of a pump-as-turbine micro-hydro test facility with incorporated inlet flow control," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-6.
    10. Laghari, J.A. & Mokhlis, H. & Bakar, A.H.A. & Mohammad, Hasmaini, 2013. "A comprehensive overview of new designs in the hydraulic, electrical equipments and controllers of mini hydro power plants making it cost effective technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 279-293.
    11. Mandelli, Stefano & Barbieri, Jacopo & Mereu, Riccardo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2016. "Off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries: Definitions, classification and a comprehensive literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1621-1646.
    12. Tapia, A. & Millán, P. & Gómez-Estern, F., 2018. "Integer programming to optimize Micro-Hydro Power Plants for generic river profiles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 905-914.
    13. Alejandro Tapia Córdoba & Daniel Gutiérrez Reina & Pablo Millán Gata, 2019. "An Evolutionary Computational Approach for Designing Micro Hydro Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-25, March.
    14. Vinod, J. & Sarkar, Bikash K. & Sanyal, Dipankar, 2022. "Flow control in a small Francis turbine by system identification and fuzzy adaptation of PID and deadband controllers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 87-99.
    15. Zhou, Daqing & Deng, Zhiqun (Daniel), 2017. "Ultra-low-head hydroelectric technology: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 23-30.
    16. Tapia, A. & R. del Nozal, A. & Reina, D.G. & Millán, P., 2021. "Three-dimensional optimization of penstock layouts for micro-hydropower plants using genetic algorithms," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:33:y:2008:i:6:p:1379-1391. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.