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Community-scale power infrastructure may be the only electrification option for tens of millions households that remain out of reach from centralized power grids. The responsiveness of household electricity demand to price is a crucial design input for off-grid systems. While the price elasticity of electricity demand of grid-connected consumers has been abundantly studied, few studies focus on off-grid communities where substantial econometric challenges arise, including the absence of metered consumption data and electricity prices that are simultaneously determined by cost and demand considerations. This study attempts to address these challenges for the case of off-grid micro hydropower consumers. It makes two core contributions: First, we propose the surface area of the contributing hydrologic catchment as a new instrumental variable to estimate elasticity using a cross sectional dataset of existing micro hydropower infrastructure. Second, we provide a first price-elasticity estimate (−0.15) for off-grid electricity demand in Nepal. We surmise that the small (in absolute value) elasticity value found in this study arises from the low levels of consumption observed off-the-grid. We use a Monte Carlo analysis to show that failing to account for this disparity can lead to substantial financial losses caused by suboptimal power infrastructure design. Keywords: Rural electrification, Instrumental variable, Unmetered connection, Micro hydropower, Nepal

In Ethiopia, several Micro hydropower (MHP) schemes were constructed between the year 1950 and 1970. One of the Micro hydropower schemes constructed within this period was Huluka Micro-hydropower. However, it is no longer operational nowadays due to some issues and problems. Hence, this research study aimed to assess the causes of failure and estimating the potential power of Huluka micro hydropower. The overall existing condition of the components of the Micro hydropower plants evaluated as to functionality and its physical measurements, including the identification of the potential factors responsible for the failure of the Micro hydropower. From the flow duration curve of Huluka River, it indicated a maximum and the minimum potential power of the scheme of about 1313.23kw, and 274.41 kW, respectively. Hence, it is postulated that rehabilitation of Huluka MHP could provide a solution to the current shortage and interruption of power supply in Ambo town as well as its surrounding areas.

A rotary hydrostatic pressure machine (RHPM) is a hydropower converter for very low head applications (less than 2.5 m). An RHPM can be installed in straight canals, because its wheel can g...

Pumps As Turbines (PATs) are a class of unconventional hydraulic turbines consisting of standard water pumps working in reverse mode as the prime mover. Such devices can be well suited for either in-pipe energy recovery or small-scale hydropower, but their practical application is hampered by the lack of comprehensive guidelines able to assist the designer in the determination of the optimal plant layout and the choice of equipment. In fact, the performances of a PAT will depend on factors such as its construction type, its size and the flow conditions under which the machine is expected to operate. Ultimately, the design of a PAT-based hydro scheme is a matter of trade-offs which are in most cases not trivial. An innovative software was developed in order to assist hydro designers and provide a visual aid when choosing between different layouts of the analyzed hydro scheme (e.g., more than one PAT in series/parallel, different shaft speeds), and has been applied to a real case study of energy recovery in a water network.

At low head sites and at low discharges, water wheels can be considered among the most convenient hydropower converters to install. The aim of this work is to improve the performance of an existing breastshot water wheel by changing the blade shape using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. Three optimal profiles are investigated: the profile of the existing blades, a circular profile and an elliptical profile. The results are validated by performing experimental tests on the wheel with the existing profile. The numerical results show that the efficiency of breastshot wheels is affected by the blade profile. The average increase in efficiency using the new circular profile is about 4 % with respect to the profile of the existing blades.

El presente proyecto abarca la elaboración y el análisis teórico-práctico del documental Luz de Agua, Impacto de proyectos micro hidroeléctricos en República Dominicana y Haití. Dicho documental consta, por un lado de 6 piezas audiovisuales interconectadas para su consumo interactivo a través de internet, y un dossier con material escrito, fotográfico e infográfico. La elaboración del documental se justifica en la necesidad de difundir los impactos en el desarrollo de comunidades rurales, generados por los proyectos promovidos por la organización Guakia Ambiente. Dicha difusión busca además acentuar el empoderamiento de la población beneficiaria, afianzar e incrementar la conciencia generada dentro y fuera del proyecto para garantizar la supervivencia de este tipo de iniciativas en el futuro, y ampliar el alcance de su metodología. El documento plasma el proceso de creación, que incluye las fases de ideación de formato, planificación, preproducción, producción y postproducción. Dado que el material de no-ficción generado se enmarca por su naturaleza y objetivos dentro del área de estudio de la comunicación para el desarrollo, se ha procedido a la elaboración de un marco teórico que permita identificar los rasgos definitorios de Luz de Agua con el objetivo de asentar los aprendizajes sobre un modelo repetible., This project involves the development as well as theoretical and practical analysis of the documentary Light Water, Impact of micro hydropower projects in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The documentary includes 6 audiovisual interconnected pieces for its interactive consumption via the internet, and a printed dossier with written, photographic and infographic material. The aim of the documentary is to spread the impacts on the development of rural communities, generated by the projects promoted by the organization Guakia Ambiente. It also seeks to emphasize the empowerment of the target population, as well as to strengthen and increase awareness generated within and outside the project, to ensure the survival of such initiatives in the future, and to expand the scope of its methodology. This document reflects the creation process, including the phases of format choice, planning, preproduction, production and postproduction. Since the non-fiction material generated is framed by its nature and objectives within the study area of communication for development, a theoretical framework study has been undertaken in order to identify the defining features of Water Light to settle the learnings on a repeatable model.