New to forum - researching micro hydro project

[sunshynnn]

Hi to all,

I am just starting research to determine feasibility to install a micro hydro project on our small (10 acre) property in rural Yamhill County, Oregon (USA) that is bordered by two year-round creeks.  I was happy to find this forum, and have browsed through most of the hydro topic posts.

In my research, I have been disappointed in the lack of information I have found about private landowner-installed systems.  I saw a statistic that only approx 5% of RE systems are hydro (mostly due to the fact that most residential sites do not have available water sources), but I also see that hydro has the fastest return-on-investment.  That said, it certainly is worth evaluating for our site, before exploring wind or solar options.

We are currently on-grid with Portland General Electric, and our goal is to remain on-grid, metered with PGE, with battery storage for use during outages (in our very rural location, we frequently experience short-term electrical outages ... last winter we had one outage of 6 days).

At this point in my research, we are anxious to view in person working micro hydro projects.  Picture galleries of working systems would be helpful, too.  Also, we are interested in talking/emailing with people in the state of Oregon who may be in the evaluation/planning stage of such a system.  We're curious about the permitting processes and other regulatory agency requirements that may be specific to Oregon.

We know that we need to perform some measurements on the two creeks available to us before we go further.  The creeks are running relatively flat, with no fall available.  Once we have measurements of the depth/flow, we will need to do further research to determine how to best utilize the water source (with minimal impact to the creeks).

My husband is a licensed electrician and a very handy man, which will benefit us in this project.  Ironically, I am employed by HDR Engineering, a firm that designs huge hydro projects; but I work with the bridge engineering section.  I may have a fluvial/hydraulics engineer or two available as a resource.  And, we have a large environmental department that may be able to assist with site-specific requirements (we are in a flood plain).

I'm quite enjoying my knowledge-gathering, and hope to network with others along the way.  I look forward to getting to know this forum family, and your comments, questions, and advice will be very much appreciated!

Janine

~~~~~~~~~~

Country living in beautiful Yamhill County, Oregon USA

[spinningmagnets]

Hello, Janine. I am inexperienced, so don't spend any money based on anything I say, but...

I hope to buy a retirement property in a few years, and I very much desire a site with 50-100 ft of head (for a micro-turbine, Pelton, or Turgo), and adequate flows to supply my basic electrical needs. I know the chances are slim, but I'm doing my homework now just in case I get lucky.

You have a back-up battery pack, so you're halfway there, as I'm assuming you are already familiar with inverters and charging controllers (I'm not, I once tried to fix a computer with a sledgehammer, and it just made it worse)

Even with fairly flat land, one of your creeks might be located in terrain suitable for at least a small pond to help smooth out flow variations. Even a very shallow dam would allow for a gate valve to adjust the flume feed to fine tune the RPM's. Could either of the small creeks be diverted to make one larger creek?

Flat land may restrict you to a fairly inefficient undershot wheel (Poncelet?), and one larger wheel might be better for you than two smaller wheels. The wheels rim speed will probably be about 90% of the measured flow speed, so you can then calculate the wheel diameter that will provide your target RPM's. Assuming adequate flow, you can then calculate the bucket width neccesary to provide enough torque for your anticipated load.

Your battery pack may be 12/24/48 volts DC, but if the wheel can't be located near your battery, a higher voltage from the wheel generator (120/240 VAC?) may allow its power to travel farther without degrading. You may have seen the "Cameroon" story, and this may be a useful design to compare your research options against:

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/5/28/122237/355

If you decide a wheel is your best option, an all-metal wheel is often specified as best. Although, a wooden wheel (cheaply home-made), may still be useful as an initial data gathering prototype before spending money at a welding shop.

Best of luck!, and please keep everyone posted with your final design choice and progress.

[ScottM]

Hi Janine,

  I live in Columbia County (Oregon) on 28 acres of forest land with a year round creek running right through the center of it.

> disappointed in the lack of information I have found

  Next time you are in Portland stop by Powell's Technical Books and pick up a copy of "Micro-Hydro Design Manual" by Adam Harvey (ISBN 1-85339-103-4.)  

> We're curious about the permitting processes (Oregon)

  I am in the process of filling out my "Application to Develop a Minor Hydroelectric Project". This is what you need to submit (with $500) to the Oregon Water Resources Department and, if approved (+$500 more,) allows you to legally build your (sub 100 HP) hydro project in Oregon.

http://www1.wrd.state.or.us/pdfs/Minor_hydroelectric_application.pdf

http://www1.wrd.state.or.us/pdfs/Minor_hydroelectric_application_guide.pdf

> creeks are running relatively flat, with no fall available

  I hope you have a large flow. ;-) If your creeks are big enough you may be able to get peak flow estimates off of the (Oregon) Water Resources Department mapping site:

http://map.wrd.state.or.us/apps/wr/wr_mapping/?TOC_CFG=FLOOD

  (I used this site to get a watershed boundary for "my" creek. ;-)

Have fun, Scott.

[1NORTH]

You can go to www.microhydropower.com, they have information for that type of design. good luck

[ebby1234]

I am in uk but if its any help look on my website alternativeenergysuppliesuk.com