Micro-hydro - Bringing power to Bond
Hydro power for Third World Nations
Courtesy of Pratical Action
Using water power to fight poverty
In Malawi, only one person in 2,000 has access to electricity. And in communities like Bondo, this lack of power is putting lives at risk. There’s no access to medical treatment after dark, no fridges for storing life-saving vaccinations and long days spent collecting firewood mean there’s little time for education and work. Healthcare, education and livelihoods are all suffering.
But we can bring power to the people of Bondo, and give them a chance to change their lives, by building small-scale micro-hydro systems that harness rivers natural resources.
Micro-hydro power is the small-scale harnessing of energy from falling water, such as steep mountain rivers. The micro-hydro station converts the energy of flowing water into electricity, which provides poor communities in rural areas with an affordable, easy to maintain and long-term solution to their energy needs.
Using this renewable, indigenous, non-polluting resource, micro-hydro plants can generate power for homes, hospitals, schools and workshops.
We have developed micro-hydro systems with communities in Peru, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. These systems, which are designed to operate for a minimum of 20 years, are usually 'run-of-the-river' systems.
But we can bring power to the people of Bondo, and give them a chance to change their lives, by building small-scale micro-hydro systems that harness rivers natural resources.
Micro-hydro power is the small-scale harnessing of energy from falling water, such as steep mountain rivers. The micro-hydro station converts the energy of flowing water into electricity, which provides poor communities in rural areas with an affordable, easy to maintain and long-term solution to their energy needs.
Using this renewable, indigenous, non-polluting resource, micro-hydro plants can generate power for homes, hospitals, schools and workshops.
We have developed micro-hydro systems with communities in Peru, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. These systems, which are designed to operate for a minimum of 20 years, are usually 'run-of-the-river' systems.
Micro-hydro: the basics
Each micro-hydro system harnesses the natural power of fast-flowing rivers to create a sustainable source of power. It takes water, gravity, hard work and know-how to transform the lives of a whole community. This diagram gives an at-a-glance description of how it works.
1. Water from the river is diverted along a channel, hand-built by local people with guidance from Practical Action experts
2. It's held in a holding tank
3. A gate opens and the water rushes down a pipe called a Penstock into the power house with a turbine generator
4. The water then returns to the river.
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2. It's held in a holding tank
3. A gate opens and the water rushes down a pipe called a Penstock into the power house with a turbine generator
4. The water then returns to the river.
http://PonicPods.com
http://PraticalAction.org
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