This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

This study focuses on the design, construction and operation of a distributed generation system based on micro-hydro technology. The project is sited in the Totara Valley, a small rural community approximately 70km from the Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North. The Massey University Centre for Energy Research (MUCER) has a long history of renewable energy research within the Totara Valley community. This project complements these existing schemes and provides a foundation for future research into distributed generation technologies. The project encompasses the following objectives: - to gain practical experience in the design, engineering and implementation of a distributed generation system in rural New Zealand; - to evaluate contemporary micro-hydro technology and compare the performance of this equipment in a theoretical and practical context; - to identify barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of micro-hydro systems in rural New Zealand; - to develop a spreadsheet based life cycle costing tool. The results from this study demonstrate that economic considerations are the fundamental aspect to be considered when assessing the long-term viability of these projects. The viability of micro-hydro projects are primarily determined by four factors: - the volume and head (height) of water available above the turbine site; - the length and therefore the cost of the pipeline required for transporting water to the turbine; - the legal and administrative costs involved in obtaining a resource consent to maintain access to the water resources; - the prices received and paid for electricity. Considerable charges were payable to the local authority to secure and maintain the right to harness the water resources at this site. This cost contributed considerable risk to the project and creates a significant barrier to establishing similar systems at other sites. The reduction of resource consent charges to levels that fairly reflect the negligible environmental impacts of these projects would encourage the adoption of this technology and deliver benefits to rural New Zealand communities.

No description available.

Smart sensors have become and will continue to constitute an enabling technology to wirelessly connect platforms and systems and enable improved and autonomous performance. Automobiles have about two hundred sensors. Airplanes have about eight thousand sensors. With technology advancements in autonomous vehicles or fly-by-wireless, the numbers of these sensors is expected to increase significantly. The need to conserve water and energy has led to the development of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) as a concept to support smart energy and water grid systems that would respond to emergency shut-offs or electric blackouts. Through the Internet of things (IoT) smart sensors and other network devices will be connected to enable exchange and control procedure toward reducing the operational cost and improving the efficiency of residential and commercial buildings in terms of their function or energy and water use. Powering these smart sensors with batteries or wires poses great challenges in terms of replacing the batteries and connecting the wires especially in remote and difficult-to-reach locations. Harvesting free ambient energy provides a solution to develop self-powered smart sensors that can support different platforms and systems and integrate their functionality. In this dissertation, we develop and experimentally assess the performance of harvesters that draw their energy from air or water flows. These harvesters include centimeter-scale micro wind turbines, piezo aeroelastic harvesters, and micro hydro generators. The performance of these different harvesters is determined by their capability to support wireless sensing and transmission, the level of generated power, and power density. We also develop and demonstrate the capability of multifunctional systems that can harvest energy to replenish a battery and use the harvested energy to sense speed, flow rate or temperature, and to transmit the data wirelessly to a remote location. / PHD

Le Vietnam est un pays en voie d’industrialisation rapide ce qui engendre une croissance élevée des besoins énergétiques. La consommation énergétique du Vietnam est en augmentation mais pas de façon égale dans tout le pays. En effet, 66.9% de la population du Vietnam vit en zone rurale en 2014. Une grande partie de la population vit encore pauvrement dans des sites isolés avec des accès très restreint aux énergies. Le Vietnam Master Power Plan VII (2011) indique que 759.986 habitations n’ont pas accès à l’électricité.Cependant, le Vietnam est un pays qui possède un grand potentiel en énergie renouvelable (l’énergie solaire, l’énergie éolienne, l’énergie hydroélectrique, l’énergie Biomasse). Le Vietnam a élaboré une stratégie de développement des énergies renouvelables, afin de mobiliser toutes les ressources pour réduire la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles. Les sites isolés se situent principalement au Nord-Ouest du Vietnam, près de la frontière avec le Laos et la Chine, où il existe un grand potentiel d’énergie hydraulique et/ou solaire. Il faut quand même signaler que ces énergies sont souvent saisonnières et, par exemple, une microcentrale hydroélectrique ne peut pas satisfaire la demande en énergie électrique lors de la saison sèche. Donc, un système utilisant deux sources d’énergies renouvelables (panneaux photovoltaïques et microcentrale hydroélectrique) est l’une des solutions optimales pour alimenter en électricité un site isolé au Vietnam. L’objectif de cette thèse est la gestion optimale de l’électricité renouvelable d'un tel système.Afin de satisfaire à une utilisation maximale, le principe de suivi du point maximum (ou Maximum Power Point Tracking – MPPT) est mis en application. Pour la chaine de conversion photovoltaïque, un contrôleur flou à une entrée est proposé afin de suivre le point de puissance maximale du panneau solaire.Pour la chaine de conversion hydroélectrique, une turbine Pelton couplée à un générateur synchrone à rotor bobiné permet d’alimenter en électricité une charge triphasée. Une plateforme d'essais est réalisée dans le laboratoire CReSTIC, IUT de Troyes pour effectuer une validation expérimentale du système de régulation d’une Microcentrale hydroélectrique.Pour la réalisation d’un système de production d’électricité hybride, un superviseur flou est conçu pour obtenir un comportement optimal du système. Après, une étude sur les avantages et inconvénients de ce type de systèmes hybrides pour un site isolé a été effectuée (amélioration de la formation des adultes, augmentation du temps de travail pendant la nuit, réduction du coût du carburant).Ce travail contribue à la connaissance d'une gestion optimale des énergies renouvelables pour site isolé en révélant les avantages et les qualités de l’utilisation des ressources d’énergie renouvelables au gouvernement et à d’autres investisseurs locaux ou internationaux au Vietnam. / As a rapidly industrializing country, the economy of Vietnam's has become very energy intensive. Thought, 66.9% of Vietnam's population lives in rural area in 2014. Many people still live in remote farming areas that are stricken with poverty. The Vietnam Master Power Plan VII (2011) indicates that still 818,947 households are not connected to the national grid, and 759,986 households do not have any access to electricity.Vietnam has high potential on renewable energy resources (Wind, Solar, Hydro, Biomass, and Geothermal). Using hybrid renewable energy system is considered to be one of the most feasible options to bring electricity to local people to improve life quality. The off-grid communities in Vietnam are located mainly in the north-west of Vietnam, near the border with Laos and China, where exist a great potential on Hydro power and/or solar power. A micro hydro power plant cannot satisfy the load demand, especially in dry season. Therefore, additional energy sources such as PV arrays have been suggested to complement power efficiency. Thus, this working discusses the pre-feasibility for small hybrid power generation system consisting of a PV generating unit with storage and a micro hydro generation unit for off-grid areas in Vietnam.The objective of this thesis is to optimize the production of renewable electricity for this type of small hybrid power generation system. For the photovoltaic conversion system, a one input fuzzy logic controller for maximum power point tracking is designed. For the Micro-hydro power plants (MHPP), a Pelton turbine is coupled to a would rotor synchronous generator to supply electricity for a three phase load. To keep the MHPP frequency and voltage outputs constant (50 Hz, 230 V) in spite of changing user loads, the controller is necessary. The experimental results of MHPP frequency and voltages control show the ability of our controller. For the realization of small hybrid power generation, a fuzzy supervisor is adapted to obtain an optimal behavior of the system. Finally, a study on the advantages of this type of hybrid system is carried out (improvement of adult training, increased night working hours, and reduction fuel costs). This thesis contributes to the knowledge of Renewable Energy (RE) by revealing the suitable usability and prospects of RE resources to the government and other local or international investors in Vietnam.

The Energising Development (EnDev) initiative, for which the GIZ acts as implementing agency, promotes the supply of modern energy technologies to households and small‐scale businesses in the rural communities of 24 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. In Indonesia, this has been achieved through off‐grid micro‐hydro (MHP) and solar power mini‐grids and since 2006 230 MHP and 117 solar projects have been supported to varying degree at substantial cost, reaching more than 167 thousand people. The objective of this study is to assess this contribution of the EnDev-Indonesia initiative regarding the MHP performance and ultimate long‐term sustainability prospect of the rural energy infrastructure in the country. As such a comparison between EnDev and non-EnDev MHP projects in the country was undertaken and based on the established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) survey methodology and the DB&TO sustainability model specifically fashioned for the purpose of this study. This approach involved on‐site visits and comprises technical, social, economic and environmental aspects. As a result, the analysis has shown important differences among the different supporting schemes, with the second implementing phase (2009‐2012) of EnDev outranking the other systems largely due to the high level of technical sustainability achieved by these sites. Such a good performance is even more surprising considering that the EnDev1 sites implemented during the first phase of the program in the early years were among the least‐sustainable investigated in this study. However, despite the high costs necessary to reach such a high level of sustainability as regards the quality of the civil works and electro‐mechanical equipments, this aspect alone was found not enough to guarantee the long‐term sustainability of MHP in Indonesia. On the other hand, lack of social and economic sustainability appeared having fatal consequences onthe operations of many plants. Therefore, such complex interrelation among the different aspects of sustainability was investigated and also external factors, like the regional and cultural differences among the different beneficiaries, were addressed. Finally, recommendations for future eventual courses of action were proposed.