Project: Demonstration of decentralized PICO – HYDRO power plant as an eco-friendly technology to meet the energy needs of small communities in hilly areas of Karnataka

Funded By: Indo Norwegian Environmental Programme in Karnataka (INEP)

Duration: 1999 - 2001

Objectives

To provide reliable electricity to target group in remote hilly areas of Karnataka by:

• Setting up 7 demonstration village hydros totaling to a generating capacity of 26 kW.
• Building local capacity to operate, maintain and manage the projects including setting up systems for tariff fixation, tariff collection, demand management through community participation.

Target Group

The project address three categories of target group viz.

• Residents of large plantations
• A group of small planters / agriculturists
• Populace living in hamlets

Benefits to Target Group

• Lesser drudgery for fuel collection especially for women and children
• Better domestic lightning
• Savings in use of Batteries
• Additional economic activities leading to local employment

Technology

Pico Hydro projects are hydroelectric projects with power generation capacity of up to 10kW.They generate power by converting energy in water flowing down a gradient into electrical energy.

To generate electricity, water from a natural stream flowing down a gradient is tapped at a convenient higher elevation, passed through a water conducting system and then let into a turbine installed at a lower elevation. The turbine drives an electrical generator producing electricity.

The capacity of generation depends on two main parameters

• The head available- the vertical difference in elevation between the point of tapping of water and point of installation of turbine.
• The discharge - the water flow rate through the turbine .

After flowing through the turbine the water is lead back into the same water source. Thus, except for a small stretch of the natural stream the water flow in the stream is undisturbed. Pico hydro projects also do not involve any storage of water.

Advantages of Pico Hydro Technology

• Uninterrupted and reliable electrical power
• User controlled power generation
• Can provide electricity to all typical domestic appliances. Power packs up to 1 kW(1000W) can be used of non-motive loads such as lighting, TV, Audio, Computer, water heating etc. Larger power packs can be used for motive loads such as refrigerators, mixer grinder, wet grinders etc. also.
• No recurring fuel costs-requires only water running down a slope for its operation
• Very little maintenance costs as the rotating parts are fully balanced and are not exposed to high temperatures unlike internal combustion engine based power packs.

Power generation potential at a given site

The power generation potential depends on two parameters: Head and flow (discharge). To generate a given power, higher the head, lesser will be the discharge requirement and vice versa.

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