A methodology for renovation of micro-hydropower plants: A case study using a Turgo turbine in Nepal

Joe Butchers; Sam Williamson; Julian D Booker; Suman Raj Pradhan; Prem Bikram Karki; Biraj Gautam; Bikram Raj Pradhan; Prajwal Sapkota

doi:10.20900/jsr20230015

A methodology for renovation of micro-hydropower plants: A case study using a Turgo turbine in Nepal

Joe Butchers^*
, Sam Williamson
, Julian D Booker
, Suman Raj Pradhan
, Prem Bikram Karki
, Biraj Gautam
, Bikram Raj Pradhan
, Prajwal Sapkota

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

For off-grid communities, micro-hydropower continues to provide affordable and reliable electricity access across the world. In Nepal, despite ongoing development of large-scale hydropower projects and the extension of the national grid, there remain many off-grid communities that depend on micro-hydropower plants. Over time, these systems are prone to erosion from sediment in the water, which, together with other degrading mechanical and environmental effects, may lead to reduced reliability and potential failure. Extreme weather and natural disasters can also cause catastrophic failure of the plant and its infrastructure. In such cases, Nepali micro-hydropower companies are best placed to conduct renovation works.
Where renovation is required, the selection of a different turbine type could be beneficial. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of the Turgo turbine for use in Nepal due to several advantageous features. In this paper, a methodology is applied to explore the feasibility of a site for refurbishment considering environmental, social, technical, economic, and legal factors. Subsequently, a series of design and costing activities are used to demonstrate that the Turgo turbine can be implemented. A Turgo turbine design is scaled appropriately and manufactured by a Nepali company. The turbine demonstrated an increase in power generated, from 18 kW for the existing turbine to 32 kW for the newly installed turbine. The potential for Turgo turbines at other sites around Nepal is analysed, demonstrating it could be used to renovate and improve energy production at many sites across the country.

Original language	English
Article number	e230015
Journal	Journal of Sustainability Research
Volume	5
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.20900/jsr20230015
Publication status	Published - 22 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
From a social and economic perspective, the project was implemented using the funding from EnergizeNepal and with contributions of labour from beneficiaries. The provision of funding meant that a local financial contribution was not required. Consequently, the community were keen to proceed with the project. Without grant funding, the community would have been responsible for the complete cost, perhaps with support from the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and local government. Ideally, income from plant tariffs can be saved for the costs of repair and maintenance. In practice, challenges associated with tariff collection means that this does not happen universally [32]. Whilst the focus of the project team was the installation of the turbine, as part of the project implementation, a number of suggestions were made to the management committee relating to financial management. It was emphasised to the community that the frequency of tariff collection should be increased, income and expenditure should be recorded, and regular meetings of the management committee should be held. The costing method predicted a cost for the electro-mechanical components of $9527. In practice, the actual cost was lower at $7812. Due to the relatively small dataset (n = 28) used to predict cost and the one-off nature of the Turgo turbine construction, no major conclusions regarding the cost of the Turgo turbine can be drawn. However, the relatively small difference (~20%) suggests that the costing method offered a reasonable estimate. The expression for estimating renovation cost (Equation 5) should be validated by comparison with other hydropower site renovations in Nepal.

Funding Information:
The study was funded by an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account and through Energize Nepal, project reference number ENEP-RENP-17-01.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the author(s).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Micro-hydropower
Turgo turbine
site renovation
Nepal
Methodology

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https://sustainability.hapres.com/htmls/JSR_1547_Detail.html

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Cite this

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title = "A methodology for renovation of micro-hydropower plants: A case study using a Turgo turbine in Nepal",

abstract = "For off-grid communities, micro-hydropower continues to provide affordable and reliable electricity access across the world. In Nepal, despite ongoing development of large-scale hydropower projects and the extension of the national grid, there remain many off-grid communities that depend on micro-hydropower plants. Over time, these systems are prone to erosion from sediment in the water, which, together with other degrading mechanical and environmental effects, may lead to reduced reliability and potential failure. Extreme weather and natural disasters can also cause catastrophic failure of the plant and its infrastructure. In such cases, Nepali micro-hydropower companies are best placed to conduct renovation works. Where renovation is required, the selection of a different turbine type could be beneficial. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of the Turgo turbine for use in Nepal due to several advantageous features. In this paper, a methodology is applied to explore the feasibility of a site for refurbishment considering environmental, social, technical, economic, and legal factors. Subsequently, a series of design and costing activities are used to demonstrate that the Turgo turbine can be implemented. A Turgo turbine design is scaled appropriately and manufactured by a Nepali company. The turbine demonstrated an increase in power generated, from 18 kW for the existing turbine to 32 kW for the newly installed turbine. The potential for Turgo turbines at other sites around Nepal is analysed, demonstrating it could be used to renovate and improve energy production at many sites across the country.",

keywords = "Micro-hydropower, Turgo turbine, site renovation, Nepal, Methodology",

author = "Joe Butchers and Sam Williamson and Booker, \{Julian D\} and Pradhan, \{Suman Raj\} and \{Bikram Karki\}, Prem and Biraj Gautam and Pradhan, \{Bikram Raj\} and Prajwal Sapkota",

note = "Funding Information: From a social and economic perspective, the project was implemented using the funding from EnergizeNepal and with contributions of labour from beneficiaries. The provision of funding meant that a local financial contribution was not required. Consequently, the community were keen to proceed with the project. Without grant funding, the community would have been responsible for the complete cost, perhaps with support from the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and local government. Ideally, income from plant tariffs can be saved for the costs of repair and maintenance. In practice, challenges associated with tariff collection means that this does not happen universally [32]. Whilst the focus of the project team was the installation of the turbine, as part of the project implementation, a number of suggestions were made to the management committee relating to financial management. It was emphasised to the community that the frequency of tariff collection should be increased, income and expenditure should be recorded, and regular meetings of the management committee should be held. The costing method predicted a cost for the electro-mechanical components of \$9527. In practice, the actual cost was lower at \$7812. Due to the relatively small dataset (n = 28) used to predict cost and the one-off nature of the Turgo turbine construction, no major conclusions regarding the cost of the Turgo turbine can be drawn. However, the relatively small difference (\textasciitilde{}20\%) suggests that the costing method offered a reasonable estimate. The expression for estimating renovation cost (Equation 5) should be validated by comparison with other hydropower site renovations in Nepal. Funding Information: The study was funded by an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account and through Energize Nepal, project reference number ENEP-RENP-17-01. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by the author(s).",

year = "2023",

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doi = "10.20900/jsr20230015",

language = "English",

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T2 - A case study using a Turgo turbine in Nepal

AU - Butchers, Joe

AU - Williamson, Sam

AU - Booker, Julian D

AU - Pradhan, Suman Raj

AU - Bikram Karki, Prem

AU - Gautam, Biraj

AU - Pradhan, Bikram Raj

AU - Sapkota, Prajwal

N1 - Funding Information: From a social and economic perspective, the project was implemented using the funding from EnergizeNepal and with contributions of labour from beneficiaries. The provision of funding meant that a local financial contribution was not required. Consequently, the community were keen to proceed with the project. Without grant funding, the community would have been responsible for the complete cost, perhaps with support from the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and local government. Ideally, income from plant tariffs can be saved for the costs of repair and maintenance. In practice, challenges associated with tariff collection means that this does not happen universally [32]. Whilst the focus of the project team was the installation of the turbine, as part of the project implementation, a number of suggestions were made to the management committee relating to financial management. It was emphasised to the community that the frequency of tariff collection should be increased, income and expenditure should be recorded, and regular meetings of the management committee should be held. The costing method predicted a cost for the electro-mechanical components of $9527. In practice, the actual cost was lower at $7812. Due to the relatively small dataset (n = 28) used to predict cost and the one-off nature of the Turgo turbine construction, no major conclusions regarding the cost of the Turgo turbine can be drawn. However, the relatively small difference (~20%) suggests that the costing method offered a reasonable estimate. The expression for estimating renovation cost (Equation 5) should be validated by comparison with other hydropower site renovations in Nepal. Funding Information: The study was funded by an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account and through Energize Nepal, project reference number ENEP-RENP-17-01. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the author(s).

PY - 2023/11/22

Y1 - 2023/11/22

N2 - For off-grid communities, micro-hydropower continues to provide affordable and reliable electricity access across the world. In Nepal, despite ongoing development of large-scale hydropower projects and the extension of the national grid, there remain many off-grid communities that depend on micro-hydropower plants. Over time, these systems are prone to erosion from sediment in the water, which, together with other degrading mechanical and environmental effects, may lead to reduced reliability and potential failure. Extreme weather and natural disasters can also cause catastrophic failure of the plant and its infrastructure. In such cases, Nepali micro-hydropower companies are best placed to conduct renovation works. Where renovation is required, the selection of a different turbine type could be beneficial. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of the Turgo turbine for use in Nepal due to several advantageous features. In this paper, a methodology is applied to explore the feasibility of a site for refurbishment considering environmental, social, technical, economic, and legal factors. Subsequently, a series of design and costing activities are used to demonstrate that the Turgo turbine can be implemented. A Turgo turbine design is scaled appropriately and manufactured by a Nepali company. The turbine demonstrated an increase in power generated, from 18 kW for the existing turbine to 32 kW for the newly installed turbine. The potential for Turgo turbines at other sites around Nepal is analysed, demonstrating it could be used to renovate and improve energy production at many sites across the country.

AB - For off-grid communities, micro-hydropower continues to provide affordable and reliable electricity access across the world. In Nepal, despite ongoing development of large-scale hydropower projects and the extension of the national grid, there remain many off-grid communities that depend on micro-hydropower plants. Over time, these systems are prone to erosion from sediment in the water, which, together with other degrading mechanical and environmental effects, may lead to reduced reliability and potential failure. Extreme weather and natural disasters can also cause catastrophic failure of the plant and its infrastructure. In such cases, Nepali micro-hydropower companies are best placed to conduct renovation works. Where renovation is required, the selection of a different turbine type could be beneficial. Recent work has demonstrated the potential of the Turgo turbine for use in Nepal due to several advantageous features. In this paper, a methodology is applied to explore the feasibility of a site for refurbishment considering environmental, social, technical, economic, and legal factors. Subsequently, a series of design and costing activities are used to demonstrate that the Turgo turbine can be implemented. A Turgo turbine design is scaled appropriately and manufactured by a Nepali company. The turbine demonstrated an increase in power generated, from 18 kW for the existing turbine to 32 kW for the newly installed turbine. The potential for Turgo turbines at other sites around Nepal is analysed, demonstrating it could be used to renovate and improve energy production at many sites across the country.

KW - Micro-hydropower

KW - Turgo turbine

KW - site renovation

KW - Nepal

KW - Methodology

U2 - 10.20900/jsr20230015

DO - 10.20900/jsr20230015

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 2632-6582

VL - 5

JO - Journal of Sustainability Research

JF - Journal of Sustainability Research

IS - 4

M1 - e230015

ER -

A methodology for renovation of micro-hydropower plants: A case study using a Turgo turbine in Nepal

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

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