Flower milling is an essential process in food processing since ancient times. Water as driving force for milling may be the oldest form of machinery not powered by human or animals. In many regions water driven mills are opperated till today.
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Upgrading mills to electrical power generation is a logical step which took place also in central Europe during early times of electrification. Principially it’s simple. The rotating shaft of the waterwheel has to be connected with a generator instead of the mill. Even between usage of mill or generator can be switched. For efficient power output the (mostly wooden) waterwheels are to be replaced by turbines.
picture right: common, selfe made, water driven generators in rural Indonesia
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Advantages of upgrading or rehabilitation of of existing mills or mhpp are the existing infrastructure. The location is suitable, managemental structures may still exist, land ownership is normally clear and often even constructions can still be used.
Organisation and management are main factors for sustainable operation of a mhpp. If such structures are already functionally established, success is near at hand.
Difficulties occur as such site are often relatively small. Especially professional development support than has to deal with many small sites. This is usually more difficult to handle than one bigger site.
Even if existing structures are in good conditions, turbine, generator, controller and esp. the power lines require substantial amount of money.
Links:
Upgrading Watermills inTanzania: hydrosystem.de/publications/remote_tanzania.html
Traditional mills in Nepal: http://web.media.mit.edu/~nathan/nepal/ghatta/ghattas.html
Micro hydro powered grain milling by villagers in Barpak, Nepal ©Adam Harvey/Practical Action
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 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.
Micro-hydro systems
are designed to operate for a minimum of twenty years if they are properly
looked after. By making a small charge for use, communities can accumulate
enough money to pay for the replacement of the unit at the end of its useful
life.
