Design and Site Implementation of Hydro-electrifier

The energy production and transportation represents challenge to the decision maker and the designers of the rural areas. This challenge created an interest to produce electricity from any possible source available in the rural areas. One of the adopted and proven techniques is the pico hydro power generation. This project is mainly about a pico hydro power generation, in which a modified water turbine is installed in the new pico hydro power generation that will be deployed at UTP solar research site to partially accommodate the night lighting electrical supply at that site. This project is done to reduce the dependency on the networks electrical supply. The idea is to utilize the water stream of the drain system located near to the solar research site and used it to produce electricity. There are three basic things of deploying any hydroelectric site which are dam, turbine and generator. Suitable dam was deployed at the drainage system to increase the head of the water. The turbine holder was fabricated so that the turbine can be placed at the stream. Generator is connected to the turbine to get the mechanical work to produce electricity. Suitable generator was selected as generators depend on the speed and torque provided to the shaft that connected generator and turbine. With estimated head of the water about 0.5 meters, the speed of the turbine was about 80 rpm. The speed was very fast and with a small torque provided at the generator. Induction generator was looked as the best generator to be used. But due to low water head, automotive alternator is used instead. The concrete dam structure is already designed and built at the site.