Transcript Microhydro 2006 Environment Summit Sustainability in the High Country September 23, 2006 Diane Price Brent Summerville.

Microhydro
2006 Environment Summit
Sustainability in the High Country
September 23, 2006
Diane Price
Brent Summerville
Hydro, It’s Really Solar Power
Most of that global
hydro power is
produced by largescale hydroelectric
plants
Today, we will be talking about
hydro
micro
•Small in scale
•Minimum environmental impact
•Site specific: you must have the
resource
•Affordable
•Consistent
•Produces continuously, 24/7
These Turbines are turned by water. That
turning motion drives a generator which
produced electricity.
With the high head situations we commonly see
in the mountains, small pelton wheels and turgo
wheels are commonly used.
You need two things to make power
Head and Flow
Measuring Head
Sight level (2 people)
Eye level
Measuring Head
Pipe with pressure gauge
at the bottom (1 person)
2.31 feet = 1 psi
This gauge reads 38 psi
38 psi x 2.31 feet/psi =
88 ft of head
5 gallon bucket
Small stream, little
waterfall
Most typical method
for microhydro
This may be tricky…
5 gallon bucket
If the measured flow using a 5 gallon bucket and a
stop watch was 5 gallons in 1.5 seconds, how many
GPM would this be?
5 gal 60 sec

 200GPM
1.5 sec 1 min
Larger Streams
Float Method
Weir
Power Estimate
Power (watts) = Net Head (ft) * Flow (GPM)
9-14 (use 10)
10 assumes a system
efficiency of 53%
Nozzles
Flow through the pipe is controlled by the nozzle size
Harris Hydro
The Harris system is an efficient,
durable, battery charging pelton
turbine with a PM generator.
Probably the most abundant
micro-hydro unit in the U.S.
The multiple nozzle arrangement
allows considerably more water to
impact the runner, resulting in
greater output at any head, and
usable power at a much lower
head.
1 nozzle $1700
2 nozzle $1800
4 nozzle $1950
www.harrishydro.com
Energy Systems & Design
Stream Engine
Brushless, permanent magnet
alternator which is adjustable
Capable of outputs over 1 kilowatt
Heads from 6 to 300 feet.
Equipped with a rugged bronze turgo
wheel, universal nozzles (adaptable
to sizing from 1/8 to1 inch), and a
digital multimeter which is used to
measure output current.
www.microhydropower.com
2 Nozzle Bronze
4 Nozzle Bronze
High Voltage Option
High Current Option
$2395
$2545
$200
$100
Hydro Induction Power
Good for long wire runs, 60' 500' head, 10 - 600 gpm
The units produce 3-Phase 120V,
240V, or 480V 'wild' (unregulated)
AC, which is then stepped down
to battery voltage.
The heavy-duty brushless
alternator is housed on the Harris
Housing
Uses the Harris bronze Pelton
Wheel for flows up to 200 gpm
and the bronze Turgo Runner for
flows of 200 to 600 gpm.
www.hipowerhydro.com
HV 600 with 2 Nozzles
HV 600 with 4 Nozzles
HV 1200 with 4 Nozzles
HV 1800 with 4 Nozzles
HV 3600 with 4 Nozzles
Turgo option
$2500
$2600
$3000
$3500
$5000
$600
Canyon Hydro
Serious engineering
100 KW Canyon Crossflow
Canyon 751
Canyon 2435
gpm
KW
gpm
KW
50
139
1
1665
12
100
197
3
2415
36
200
277
8
3335
101
300
340
15
4084
185
www.canyonhydro.com
Make your own
www.otherpower.com
Mollies Branch Case Study
100 ft of net head
Stream flow: 300 gpm
Design flow: 85 gpm
Penstock: 1200’ of 4” HDPE
Turbine: Harris Hydro 4nozzle PM
Power: 850 W for now
Energy: .85 kW x 24 h/day x
30 day/mon = 612 kWh/mon
Cost = about $16,000
ARISE & ASUSES Site Assessment
Measuring Flow
The 4” HDPE arrives in 50’ lengths
Fusing the pipe with the ASU Wind & Hydro Class
Fusion welder
• Shave pipe ends
• Heat with 500 degree iron
• Press ends together to fuse
• Makes a “double roll back
bead” as demonstrated by Liz
The penstock
gradually drops 100
feet along the 1200
feet of pipe. It is
supported along the
bank with steel stakes
and aircraft cable
This log house is moved into place to house the turbine
The wire run and Balance of System is roughed in
A battery box is built to contain the eight Trojan L16 batteries (48V)
A silt trap/intake
filter is built from a
55 gallon plastic
drum
The penstock is connected to the turbine house
A stand is constructed for the turbine.
A union and hinge allows the
turbine to be tilted back for
servicing.
Screw-type gate valves
insures slow operation
The water passes through
the floor and returns to the
creek
Water is diverted from the creek to the silt trap
A second silt trap barrel is added to improve performance
The battery bank and inverter are wired. The electrician installs a
subpanel for the hydro loads.
The log house does a nice job of reducing the sound level (sounds like a
sewing machine)
The Mollies Branch microhydro project serves as an excellent
demonstration site for regional farmers and landowners
Questions?