Design And Construction Of Micro Hydro Power Generation

ABSTRACT

Energy is the key stimulus for rapid industrial development of all sectors of the economy. In fact, the availability of electricity (power) is of paramount importance for the economic and industrial development of a nation. The aim of this paper is to study to generate an initiative for harnessing electric power from micro-hydro production from water fall. It is established that the obtainable head and flow rate for micro-hydro power plant. The effect on the ecosystem is very less, the ecotourism will attract visitors and the living standard of the people in the area will improve after commissioning of a micro-hydroelecric power station. Hence, the problem of in-adequate electric power production would be improved by using sustainable technology.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM OF THE STUDY
• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE STUDY
• ADVANTAGES OF MICRO HYDRO-ELECTRICITY
• METHODOLOGY
• PROJECT ORGANIZATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF THE STUDY
• POTENTIALS OF SMALL HYDRO IN NIGERIA
• CURRENT STATUS OF SHP IN NIGERIA
• CHALLENGES OF MICRO-HYDROELECTRICITY
• INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
• OVERVIEW OF MICRO HYDRO ELECTRICITY
• CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF MICRO HYDRO PLANT
• HEAD AND FLOW CHARACTERISTICS
• REGULATION AND OPERATION
• REVIEW OF TURBINE TYPES

 CHAPTER THREE

SYSTEM DESIGN

• BLOCK DIAGRAM
• SYSTEM COMPONENTS
• WORKING PRINCIPLE
• MICRO TURBINE BLADE
• MODELING OF HYDRO ELECTRO SERVO SYSTEM
• THEORETICAL POWER PRODUCED IN A HYDRO PLANT
• MATERIALS AND METHODS

CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

HPP	Hydro Power Plant
Kg	Kilogram
Km	Kilometre
kW	Kilowatt
l	Litre
m	Metre
MHP	Micro Hydro Project
MHS	Micro Hydropower System
MW	Megawatt
s	Seconds
PPA	Power Purchase Agreements
VDC	Village Development Committee

 CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                        INTRODUCTION

Energy is one of the most fundamental elements in the world. Energy is used for operating machine,  light homes and cities, power vehicles, trains, aeroplanes, musical equipment, television and other home appliances. Energy is a necessity for human survival in the universe. Nigeria is seriously facing energy demand predicament and the bad-state of power has been the major bane of it’s under development [1]. The demand for electricity is increasing day by day for large population as well as for industries. In view of the crucial energy situation, it is necessary to find alternative sources of generating electric power. Erin-Ijesha town is very close to Efon-Alaye mountain which is full of hills, streams, rivers, springs and waterfalls. A small scale hydro-electric power station can be set up across these rivers, springs and stream from the hills. Erin- Ijesha waterfalls also known as Olumirin waterfall is situated within latitude 7 0301and 80 451 North and Longitude 40 31 and 50 East [2].

 

Figure1          shows            Erin-Ijesha Geographical characteristics while Figure 2 shows Erin-Ijesha water fall and Figure 3 shows first level of Erin- Ijesha water fall. The river has about seven stages and three major falls. The area is evergreen and cool. The water does not overflow its banks. It does not dry off, even during the typical dry season.

1.1                                           BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Hydro power plants convert potential energy of water into electricity. It is a clean source of energy .The water after generating electrical power is available for irrigation and other purposes. The first use of moving water to produce electricity was a waterwheel on the Fox River in Wisconsin in 1882. Hydropower continued to play a major role in the expansion of electrical service early in this century around the world. Hydroelectric power plants generate from few kW to thousands of MW. They are classified as micro hydro power plants for the generating capacity less than 100 KW. Hydroelectric power plants are much more reliable and efficient as a renewable and clean source than the fossil fuel power plants. This resulted in upgrading of small to medium sized hydroelectric generating stations wherever there was an adequate supply of moving water and a need for electricity. As electricity demand soared in the middle of this century and the efficiency of coal and oil fueled power plants increased, small hydro plants fell out of favor. Mega projects of hydro power plants were developed. The majority of these power plants involved large dams, which flooded big areas of land to provide water storage and therefore a constant supply of electricity. In recent years, the environmental impacts of such large hydro projects are being identified as a cause for concern. It is becoming increasingly difficult for developers to build new dams because of opposition from environmentalists and people living on the land to be flooded. Therefore the need has arisen to go for the small scale hydro electric power plants in the range of mini and micro hydro power plants. There are no micro hydro power plants in Malaysia and the smallest category of hydro power plants in Malaysia is mini hydro with a capacity between 500 kW to 100 kW.

1.2                                                  PROBLEM STATEMENT

Electricity generation is one of the most challenging issues of our time most especially in developing countries like Nigeria. This problem is based on the cost of production and the impact it has on the environment. In other to tackle this problem a hydro power electric generation was considered. In hydro power electric generation, It only takes a small amount of flow (as little as few litres per minute) or a drop as low as 1 m to generate electricity with micro hydro. Electricity can be delivered as far as 1 km away to the location where it is being used. If planned carefully and well adapted to the environmental conditions, micro hydropower schemes produce a continuous and predictable supply of electrical energy in comparison to other small-scale renewable technologies. The peak energy season is during the winter months when large quantities of electricity are required. MHP is considered to function as a ‘run-of-river’ system, meaning that the water passing through the generator is directed back into the stream with relatively little impact on the surrounding ecology.

1.3                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT

The aim of this work is to build an efficient and reliable form of clean source of renewable energy produced from small rivers and streams designed to be a run -of-river type.

1.4                                            OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

At the end of this work, the student involved shall be able to:

1. Build micro-hydro power generator
2. Discuss principle and operation of a micro-hydro-electric
3. The advantages and disadvantages of the energy over other means of generating electricity.
4. The operation of a water turbine, etc.

1.5                             SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Microhydro systems are very flexible and can be deployed in a number of different environments. They are dependent on how much water flow the source (creek, river, stream) has and the velocity of the flow of water. Energy can be stored in battery banks at sites that are far from a facility or used in addition to a system that is directly connected so that in times of high demand there is additional reserve energy available. These systems can be designed to minimize community and environmental impact regularly caused by large dams or other mass hydroelectric generation sites.

1.6                              LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The limitations of micro hydropower plants are:

1. A necessary condition to install a micro hydro plant is obviously to have an available reliable water stream within a few hundred feet from the location of the residence on the land that belongs to the homeowner.
2. One must be very careful not to harm the environment, leave the scenery as beautiful as it was, don’t harm wildlife, birds and fish as well as the local trees and shrubs. This can easily be achieved without investing any terrible amount of extra cost

• Even though the micro hydro plant requires low maintenance, with years some of the pipe run might be covered with vegetation and the access to the pipe might be difficult; keeping the vegetation off is an extra effort that might require the hiring of laborers and equipment

1.7                                    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Micro-hydro-electric power is both an efficient and reliable form of clean source of renewable energy. It can be an excellent method of harnessing renewable energy from small rivers and streams. The micro-hydro project designed to be a run -of-river type, because it requires very little or no reservoir in order to power the turbine. The water will run straight through the turbine and back into the river or stream to use it for the other purposes. This has a minimal environmental impact on the local ecosystem.

1.8            ADVANTAGES OF MICRO HYDRO-ELECTRICITY

The main advantages of micro hydro-electricity are:

1. Cost effectiveness; micro-hydro plants cost less than residential solar power plants and home wind turbines that generate comparable amount of electrical power
2. Continuous operation day and night and under any wind conditions (not like solar plants or wind turbines) and every day, seasonal changes however can be anticipated (more water during the winter season and the spring season, less water during the summer season)

• Non intrusive and efficient; not like the big hydro plants that use dams and create giant lakes behind the dams, micro-hydro plants only divert a small fraction of the stream and they don’t need a water storage pool. Therefore the environmental damage that accompanies the large scale hydro plants is not duplicated by the micro-hydro dam-less electric plants.

1. In rare cases where the site is close to grid lines, part of the produced power can be sold back to the utility, and the grid serves as backup

1.8                                          METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

1. Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
2. Draw a block diagram.

• Test for continuity of components and devices,

1. Design and calculation for the work was carried out.
2. Studying of various materials used in work.
3. Welding of the whole work.

• Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.9                                                         PROJECT ORGANIZATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.