Developing Reliable and Sustainable Micro-hydropower Systems for Developing Countries

据估计，全世界有10亿人生活在没有电力供应的农村地区。在这些农村地区，经济、地理和政治因素综合在一起，使当地发电成为改善电力供应的最有效方法。在地理条件适宜的发展中国家，水力发电是当地最经济的发电方式之一。尼泊尔拥有世界上第二丰富的水电资源，由于许多人生活在农村地区，因此需要当地发电。在尼泊尔，至少有1800座微型水力发电厂（MHP），发电量为25兆瓦。这些涡轮机（额定功率小于100kW）由尼泊尔各地的中小型企业制造和安装。替代能源促进中心（AEPC）正式承认超过75家公司有资格或“暂时有资格”建造和安装MHP涡轮机。资格的过程并不规范每个项目的整体质量，也没有特定的国家标准来坚持。一旦投入使用并移交给社区，操作和维护通常由训练有素的操作员进行。虽然培训是全面的，但维修的质量和规律性是高度可变的。维护和系统质量差的结果是性能不佳，操作不当，在最坏的情况下，系统故障。以前的研究表明，尼泊尔涡轮机安装的所有方面的质量都是高度可变的。如果没有标准，就没有办法管理微型水电制造商完成的安装的质量。可行性研究期间的自满会导致涡轮机尺寸不正确，从而导致低负荷因素和远离额定功率的运行。此外，缺乏教育导致消费者滥用，这可能加剧技术问题。实地研究将使用现场评估和问卷调查来评估微型水力发电厂的技术和社会绩效。在实地测试期间确定的问题将用于对微型水电制造商项目过程的所有阶段进行有针对性的研究。同时，对完整设计生命周期的理解将用于寻找机会引入更好的质量保证和标准化。通过建模和参数化CAD，将为尼泊尔典型的环境条件开发一个标准化的原型。将测试该装置的水动力学缩放版本，以确定其适用于各种水头和流量。

An estimated 1 billion people worldwide are living in rural areas without access to electricity. In these rural areas, economic, geographic and political factors all combine to make local generation the most effective method for improving electricity access. In developing countries with appropriate geography, hydropower is one of the most economical methods for local generation. Nepal has the second richest hydropower resource in the world and with many people living in rural areas there is a requirement for local generation. In Nepal, there are at least 1800 micro-hydro power (MHP) plants generating 25MW of power. These turbines (with rated power less than 100kW) are manufactured and installed by small and medium size enterprises based across Nepal. The Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) officially recognises over 75 companies as qualified or 'provisionally qualified' to build and install MHP turbines. The process of qualification does not regulate the overall quality of each project and there are no particular national standards to adhere to. Once commissioned and handed over to a community, operation and maintenance is typically carried out by a trained operator. Whilst the training is comprehensive, the quality and regularity of maintenance is highly variable.The results of poor maintenance and system quality are under-performance, improper operation and in worst cases, system failure. Previous research has suggested that the quality of all aspects of turbine installations in Nepal is highly variable. Without standards in place, there is no means to manage the quality of installations completed by micro-hydro manufacturers. Complacency during feasibility studies leads to incorrect sizing of turbines resulting in low load factors and operation away from rated power. In addition, poor education results in consumer misuse which can exacerbate technical problems. Field based research will use site assessment and questionnaire surveys to assess the technical and social performance of micro-hydro plants. Issues identified during the field testing will be used to make a targeted study of all stages in a project process at a micro-hydropower manufacturer. Concurrently, the understanding of the complete design life cycle will be used to find opportunities to introduce greater quality assurance and standardisation. Through modelling and parameterised CAD, a standardised prototype will be developed for environmental conditions typical in Nepal. A hydrodynamically scaled version of this will be tested to ascertain its applicability for use with a range of heads and flow rates.