How to Plan a Mini Hydro Power

Project
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Contents [hide]
1 Overview
2 Technical
2.1 Scheme Components
2.2 Water into Watts
2.3 Suitable Conditions for Micro-Hydro Power
2.4 Turbines
2.5 Load Factor
3 Other Issues
3.1 The Economics - Cost Reduction
3.2 Ownership, Management
3.3 Low-cost Grid Connection
4 Complexity of Micro-Hydropower (MHP) - Barriers to Success
5 Appropriate Scale Hydro-power
6 Summary
6.1 Equip a Certain Place with Hydropower (A)
6.2 Implementing a mhp Scheme in an Area / Region / Country (B)
6.3 Standard Procedure - Typical Questions
7 Further Information
8 References
Overview
Small hydropower stations are usually run off schemes. The most
known example in central Europe would probably be a traditional mill.
In most countries where water power is used mills have been the firs
usage. Originally the water wheel drove the millstones directly. Modern
micro-hydro power (MHP) plants use Turbines instead of water wheels
and mostly power a generator to produce electricity. But in cases
where machinery can be used and installed near the turbine direct
driven systems have some advantages . Such systems are purely
mechanical and therefore extremely robust. Actually there is no
comprehensive technology to drive machinery without combustion
engines.
Categories on small hydropower are mostly taken by size of output
power. Nevertheless is the upper limit of a locations power determined
by the local conditions like amount of flowing water and height
difference.

Table 1: Classification of small hydropower by size [ kW (Kilowatt) =

1000 Watts; MW (Megawatt) = 1,000,000 Watts or 1000 kW]
Small- 1 - 15 MW - usually feeding into a grid
hydro
Mini- from ~ 100 kW up to 1 MW; either stand alone schemes or more often fee
hydro
Micro- from few kW up to 100 kW; usually provided power for a small community
hydro from the grid.
Pico- from a few hundred watts up to 5kW
hydro

Technical
Scheme Components
Figure 1 shows the main components of a run-of-the-river micro-hydro
scheme. This type of scheme requires no water storage but instead
diverts some of the water from the river which is channelled along the
side of a valley before being 'dropped' into the turbine via a penstock.
In figure 1, the turbine drives a generator that provides electricity for a
workshop. The transmission line can be extended to a local village to
supply domestic power for lighting and other uses.
 Figure 1: Layout of a typical micro hydro scheme

There are various other configurations which can be used depending

on the topographical and hydrological conditions, but all adopt the
same general principle.
Go to Top

Water into Watts

To determine the power potential of the water flowing in a river or
stream it is necessary to determine both the flow rate of the water and
the head through which the water can be made to fall. The flow rate is
the quantity of water flowing past a point in a given time. Typical flow
rate units are litres per second or cubic meters per second. The head
is the vertical height, in meters, from the turbine up to the point where
the water enters the intake pipe or penstock.
The potential power can be calculated as: P = g x Q x H x feff
Example:A location with a head of 10 metres, flow of 300 liter / sec (=
0.3 m3/sec) will have a potential power of 18 kW electricity:
10 m * 0.3 m3 * 10m/s2 * 0.5 = 18 kW
Power in kW (P); Flow rate in m3 (Q); Head in m (H); Gravity constant =
9.81 m/s2 (g); Efficiency factor (feff) => 0.4 - 0.7 *
*
Small water turbines rarely have efficiency better than 80%.
Generators' efficiency of ~ 90% and power will also be lost in the pipe
carrying the water to the turbine, due to frictional losses. A rough guide
used for small systems of a few kW rating is to take the overall
efficiency as approximately 50%. Thus, the theoretical power must be
multiplied by 0.50 for a more realistic figure

If a machine is operated under conditions other than full-load or full-

flow then other significant inefficiencies must be considered. Part flow
and part load characteristics of the equipment needs to be known to
assess the performance under these conditions. It is always preferable
to run all equipment at the rated design flow and load conditions, but it
is not always practical or possible where river flow fluctuates
throughout the year or where daily load patterns vary considerably.
Depending on the end use requirements of the generated power, the
output from the turbine shaft can be used directly as mechanical power
or the turbine can be connected to an electrical generator to produce
electricity. For many rural industrial applications shaft power is suitable
(for food processing such as milling or oil extraction, sawmill, carpentry
workshop, small scale mining equipment, etc.), but many applications
require conversion to electrical power. For domestic applications
electricity is preferred.
This can be provided either:
directly to the home via a small electrical distribution system or,
can be supplied by means of batteries which are returned periodically
to the power house for recharging - this system is common where
the cost of direct electrification is prohibitive due to scattered
housing (and hence an expensive distribution system),

Where a generator is used alternating current (a.c.) electricity is

normally produced. Singlephase power is satisfactory on small
installations up to 20kW, but beyond this, 3-phase power is used to
reduce transmission losses and to be suitable for larger electric
motors. An a.c. power supply must be maintained at a constant 50 or
60 cycles/second for the reliable operation of any electrical equipment
using the supply. This frequency is determined by the speed of the
turbine which must be very accurately governed.
Go to Top
Suitable Conditions for Micro-Hydro Power
The best geographical areas for exploiting small-scale hydro power are
those where there are steep rivers flowing all year round, for example,
the hill areas of countries with high year-round rainfall, or the great
mountain ranges and their foothills, like the Andes and the Himalayas.
Islands with moist marine climates, such as the Caribbean Islands, the
Philippines and Indonesia are also suitable. Low-head turbines have
been developed for small-scale exploitation of rivers where there is a
small head but sufficient flow to provide adequate power.
To assess the suitability of a potential site, the hydrology of the site
needs to be known and a site survey carried out, to determine actual
flow and head data. Hydrological information can be obtained from the
meteorology or irrigation department usually run by the national
government. This data gives a good overall picture of annual rain
patterns and likely fluctuations in precipitation and, therefore, flow
patterns. The site survey gives more detailed information of the site
conditions to allow power calculation to be done and design work to
begin. Flow data should be gathered over a period of at least one full
year where possible, so as to ascertain the fluctuation in river flow over
the various seasons. There are many methods for carrying out flow
and head measurements and these can be found in the relevant texts.
Go to Top

Turbines
A turbine converts the energy in falling water into shaft power. There
are various types of turbine which can be categorised in one of several
ways. The choice of turbine will depend mainly on the pressure head
available and the design flow for the proposed hydropower installation.
As shown in table 2 below, turbines are broadly divided into three
groups; high, medium and low head, and into two categories: impulse
and reaction.

Table 2: Classification of turbine types:[1]

Head pressure
Turbine Runner High Medium
Impulse Pelton Crossflow
Turgo Turgo
Multi-jet Pelton Multi-jet Pelton
Reaction Francis Propeller
 Pump-as-turbine (PAT) Kaplan

The difference between impulse and reaction can be explained simply

by stating that the impulse turbines convert the kinetic energy of a jet of
water in air into movement by striking turbine buckets or blades - there
is no pressure reduction as the water pressure is atmospheric on both
sides of the impeller. The blades of a reaction turbine, on the other
hand, are totally immersed in the flow of water, and the angular as well
as linear momentum of the water is converted into shaft power - the
pressure of water leaving the runner is reduced to atmospheric or
lower.
Go to Top

Load Factor
The load factor is the amount of power used divided by the amount of
power that is available if the turbine were to be used continuously.
Unlike technologies relying on costly fuel sources, the 'fuel' for
hydropower generation is free and therefore the plant becomes more
cost effective if run for a high percentage of the time. If the turbine is
only used for domestic lighting in the evenings then the plant factor will
be very low. If the turbine provides power for rural industry during the
day, meets domestic demand during the evening, and maybe pumps
water for irrigation in the evening, then the plant factor will be high.
It is very important to ensure a high plant factor if the scheme is to be
cost effective and this should be taken into account during the planning
stage. Many schemes use a 'dump' load (in conjunction with an
electronic load controller - see below), which is effectively a low priority
energy demand that can accept surplus energy when an excess is
produced e.g. water heating, storage heaters or storage cookers.
Load control governors
Water turbines, like petrol or diesel engines, will vary in speed as load
is applied or relieved. Although not such a great problem with
machinery which uses direct shaft power, this speed variation will
seriously affect both frequency and voltage output from a generator.
Traditionally, complex hydraulic or mechanical speed governors altered
flow as the load varied, but more recently an electronic load
controller (ELC) has been developed which has increased the
simplicity and reliability of modern micro-hydro sets. The ELC prevents
speed variations by continuously adding or subtracting an artificial
load, so that in effect, the turbine is working permanently under full
load. A further benefit is that the ELC has no moving parts, is very
reliable and virtually maintenance free. The advent of electronic load
control has allowed the introduction of simple and efficient, multi-jet
turbines, no longer burdened by expensive hydraulic governors.
Go to Top

Other Issues
The Economics - Cost Reduction
Normally, small-scale hydro installations in rural areas of developing
countries can offer considerable financial benefits to the communities
served, particularly where careful planning identifies income-generating
uses for the power.
The major cost of a scheme is for site preparation and the capital cost
of equipment. In general, unit cost decreases with a larger plant and
with high heads of water. It could be argued that small-scale hydro
technology does not bring with it the advantages of 'economy of scale',
but many costs normally associated with larger hydro schemes have
been 'designed out' or 'planned out' of micro hydro systems to bring the
unit cost in line with bigger schemes.

This includes such innovations as:

using run-of-the-river schemes where possible - this does away with
the cost of an expensive dam for water storage
locally manufactured equipment where possible and appropriate
use of HDPE (plastic) penstocks where appropriate
electronic load controller - allows the power plant to be left
unattended, thereby reducing labour costs, and introduce useful
by-products such as battery charging or water heating as dump
loads for surplus power; also does away with bulky and
expensive mechanical control gear
using existing infrastructure, for example, a canal which serves an
irrigation scheme
siting of power close to village to avoid expensive high voltage
distribution equipment such as transformers
using pumps as turbines (PAT) - in some circumstances standard
pumps can be used 'in reverse' as turbines; this reduces costs,
delivery time, and makes for simple installation and maintenance
using motors as generators - as with the PAT idea, motors can be
 run 'in reverse' and used as generators; pumps are usually
purchased with a motor fitted and the whole unit can be used as
a turbine/generator set
use of local materials for the civil works
use of community labour
good planning for a high plant factor (see above) and well balanced
load pattern (energy demand fluctuation throughout the day)
low-cost connections for domestic users (see following chapter on
this topic)
self-cleaning intake screens - this is a recent innovation which is
fitted to the intake weir and prevents stones and silt from entering
the headrace canal; this does away with the need for overspill
and desilting structures along the headrace canal and also
means that, in many cases, the canal can be replaced by a low-
pressure conduit buried beneath the ground - this technology is,
at present, still in its early stages of dissemination
Maintenance costs (insurance and water abstraction charges, where
they apply) are a comparatively minor component of the total -
although they may be an important consideration in marginal economic
cases.
For further details of the economics of micro-hydro power see the case
study on the Micro-hydro Scheme in Zimbabwe
Go to Top

Ownership, Management
Programmes promoting the use of micro-hydro power in developing
countries have concentrated on the social, as well as the technical and
economic aspects of this energy source. Technology transfer and
capacity building programmes have enabled local design and
manufacture to be adopted. Local management, ownership and
community participation has meant that many schemes are under the
control of local people who own, run and maintain them. Operation and
maintenance is usually carried out by trained local craftspeople.

Low-cost Grid Connection

Where the power from a micro-hydro scheme is used to provide
domestic electricity, one method of making it an affordable option for
low-income groups is to keep the connection costs and subsequent
bills to a minimum. Often, rural domestic consumers will require only
small quantity of power to light there houses and run a radio or
television. There are a number of solutions that can specifically help
low-income households to obtain an electricity connection and help
utilities meet their required return on investment.
These include:
Load limited supply.
Load limiters work by limiting the current supplied to the consumer to
a prescribed value. If the current exceeds that value then the
device automatically disconnects the power supply. The
consumer is charged a fixed monthly fee irrespective of the total
amount of energy consumed. The device is simple and cheap
and does away with the need for an expensive metre and
subsequent meter reading.
Reduced service connection costs. Limiting load supply can also help
reduce costs on cable, as the maximum power drawn is low and
so smaller cable sizes can be used. Also, alternative cable poles
can sometimes be found to help reduce costs.
Pre-fabricated wiring systems. Wiring looms can be manufactured
'ready to install' which will not only reduce costs but also
guarantee safety standards.
Credit. Credit schemes can allow householders to overcome the
barrier imposed by the initial entry costs of grid connection. Once
connected, energy savings on other fuels can enable repayments
to be made. Using electricity for lighting, for example, is a fraction
of the cost of using kerosene.
Community involvement. Formation of community committees and
co-operatives who are pro-active in all stages of the electrification
process can help reduce costs as well as provide a better
service. For example, community revenue collection can help
reduce the cost of collection for the utility and hence the
consumer.
Go to Top

Complexity of Micro-Hydropower (MHP) -

Barriers to Success
A wide range of topics needs to be address to implement MHP projects
successfully. The Thumbnail Diagramm ( click to enlarge) below
provides an overview of ascpects to be considered when planning or
implementing a MHP scheme. There is another article which provides
an insight into Complexity of MHP and the barriers to success.

(click image to enlarge)

Go to Top

Appropriate Scale Hydro-power

In recent years there has been much debate over the appropriate scale
of hydro power. Many argue that large hydro is not only
environmentally damaging (as large areas of land are flooded) but that
there is also a negative social impact where large imported
technologies are used.
Go to Top

Summary
The information below provides a short summary for constructing a
small hydro power.

Equip a Certain Place with Hydropower (A)

1. Check the sites feasibility.
This means, gather the following Data:
head, flow, number of consumers, location data (distance from grid...).
Go there and fill out this form => a two page condensed site
assessment
If you need further quick information go to Hydropower Basics

2. Calculate the sites hydropower potential:

Multiply the (minimal) flow in liter/second with the available height
difference. The result times 5 gives you an estimation on how many
Watts can be produced.
see also Hydropower Basics
3. Estimate the required power at the site.
Separate consumer power and productive use power. Keep in mind
that transmission cables are costly.
Consumers basics are light and TV. Light requires min. 5 -20 Watt per
bulb (5 W = energy saving lamp, if available). A TV requires 40 - 150 W
(depending on size and type). Machinery needs much more power.
Motors may require from 1000 Watt (1kW = small) upward. Heating
needs also a lot power (min. 500 W for a small water heater).

4. Compare the local hydropower potential with the de'mand of

electric power.
If the potential is to be gained, check if the Data from point 1. is really
valid.
Is the measured flow available all year round?
Is the head available on a short horizontal distance - means "how long
have canal and penstock to be?"

5. Cost estimation:
There is no general cost estimation possible as any site differs from the
other. Biggest cost blocks are usually:
Civil structure: Ask a company to find out the local cost for building
(material).
mansion cost per m3 weir - 1.5 m height x width of river; cost per m
canal - size depends on water volume; cost per m2 powerhouse ~ 10 -
25 m 2
Penstock: ask the local prices for pipes - size depends on water
volume
Turbine, Generator, Controller: Ask a turbine manufacturer for an offer
for your power range and site conditions (flow and head). The final
price will range between the offer from a German producer and some
Chinese products.
Transmission line: Check required local standards. Ask the cable
cost/meter for your potential power. Cable length goes from
powerhouse towards the load center (village center)
Transformer: Power > 10 kW and long transmission lines > 2 km
require transformer stations.
House connections: Depending on distance towards house and power
line (cable length), number of appliances (just lights?), safety
standards (mcb) and metering devices/ load limiters.
-> please feel free to extend and sharpen this cost section <-
With the above knowledge you should be able to discuss a projects
realisation seriously. First step is usually a professional feasibility
study.
Go to Top

Implementing a mhp Scheme in an Area / Region /

Country (B)
- for business, demonstration or informative reasons -
1. Set preferences for the potential mhp project
If you not fixed to a certain location to implement a mhp scheme you
start chose a range of preferences. These define a potential sites
features.
Preference Site features ( + sufficient hydro potential) Difficulties (poss
s
stability stable management, solid equipment social issues are d
long term good social setup, stable management social issues are d
operation
high social intensive social setup, high level of participation time intensive, de
impacts
poverty poor clients, opportunities for productive use low financial resou
reduction dependencies, req
high rehabilitation of existing sites, feed in tariffs, grid including financial
financial connection, financial potent customers bodies)
revenues
productive demand for machinery, potential for marketable high effort to iden
usage products, local entrepreneurship available. tightrope walk bet

Feasibility, planning, social setup and installation requires regular trips

to the site. Traveling efforts can be reduced if accessibility is adequate.

'2. Find suitable lo'cation(s)

Check, how far a mhp power potential suits the preferences set by the
project / clients. (=> see A)

3. Integrate the potentially affected communities as soon as

possible in the process.
If supplying a local or isolated grid the local community plays a key role
for the sites later success.Do not ever promise anything before you
sure that a project will be implemented at a certain location.
Concentrate on cooperation and integration of participants. Use local
resources where ever possible. Social issues are usually much more
complicated than technical issues. They are time consuming, may vary
during the process and are different on each location. Nevertheless a
working social network is usually the biggest factor towards success.
Go to Top

Standard Procedure - Typical Questions

Interest on a potential hydropower location
Idea for energy usage: direct drive of machinery, electricity
production for local use or feed into grid for revenue
Difficulty: financial coverage, remote location, specific conditions,
uncertain outcome
Price range: depends on size of potential site, ranges from 2000 -
5000 USD/kW
Material needed: Turbine, generator, controller come from a
specialist
Suitable geographic area: usual hilly and all year round water flow,
also irrigation canals can have good hydropower potential
Required competencies: Experience in mhp feasibility for pre-study
and planning, patience in cooperation with the local entities
Supply for how many people: Available share per household (hh)
depends on local hydro potential and type of use (lighting, TV,
machinery, ...)
How Long does it take: Ideally flow measurements should be taken
over several years to ensure safe data. A must is the
measurement of the minimal flow during dry season. From there
on a mhp plant can be installed within one year. Accessibility of
remote location, delivery times for turbine and generator and
social setup usually take longer than estimated.
Go to Top

Further Information
Hydro - FAQ
Technical specifications for MHP - Sri Lanka
How to build a small hydro power project? Part I
How to build a small hydro power project?
Handbook for developing micro-hydro in British Columbia
 Pico hydro for village power
Hydro Portal
ASEAN-German Mini Hydro Project - AGMHP
Pico hydro Website now maintained by University of Nottingham, UK
Micro-hydro website maintained by Wim Klunne; Contains a useful
range of information including case studies, manufacturers,
consultants, theory, discussion groups, and downloadable books
& manuals.
The British Hydropower Association
International Network on Small Hydro Power
Troubleshooting poster for operators in Indonesia

References
1 Micro-hydro Design Manual, IT Publications, 1993
Practical Action
Micro-hydro Design Manual, A Harvey & A Brown, ITDG Publishing,
1992.
Micro-hydro power: A guide for development workers, P Fraenkel, O
Paish, V Bokalders, A Harvey & A Brown, ITDG Publishing, IT
Power, Stockholm Environment Institute, 1991.
Small hydro Power in China, ITDG Publishing, 1985.
Motors as Generators for Micro-Hydro Power, Nigel Smith, IT
Publications, 1994.
Pumps as Turbines - A users guide, Arthur Williams, ITDG
Publishing, 1995.
Rural Energy in Peru - Power for Living, ITDG, 1996.
Low-cost Electrification - Affordable Electricity Installation for Low-
Income Households in Developing Countries, IT
Consultants/ODA, 1995.
The Micro-hydro Pelton Turbine Manual: Design, Manufacture and
Installation for Small-scale Hydropower, Jeremy Thake, ITDG
Publishing, 2000.Going with the Flow: Small-scale Water Power,
Dan Curtis, CAT 1999 Small Hydro as an Energy Option for
Rural Areas of Per by Teodoro Sanches ITDG Latin America
The Role of the Private Sector in the Small-scale Hydropower Field,
K. Goldsmith, SKAT, 1995
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