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MiniHydro
Power
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I had the opportunity to be involved in
the construction of three (3) mini hydro power plants between
1984 to 1987 for the National Electricity Board of Malaysia
(now known as Tenaga Nasional Berhad). The three (3)
plants and their power capcities were located at the
following places:
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1. Sg. Kerling at Kerling, Ulu
Selangor (1000 KW)
2. Sg. Bil at Slim River, Perak (250
KW)
3. Sg. Kinjang at Tapah, Perak (250 KW) |
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Then, In 1991, I was assigned by my
then employer, Time Engineering Berhad, to participate in the
tender to design and construct a 1000KW Mini-Hydro Power Plant
on the Bombalai river at Tawau in Sabah (East Malaysia) for
the Sabah Electricity Board. Mainly due to the experience that
I had accumulayed in the previous Mini-Hydro Power Plant
Projects, we managed to secure the contract even though our tendered price was not the lowest. |
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Little
did I realised then that the experience that I
had accumulated in building the four (4) minihydro power
plants would one day require me to offer
my knowledge and experience towards developing
minihydro power plants for clients as far as Laos, Burma
and Nigeria. |
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The photo on the
left shows a typical Intake consisting of a
small concrete dam with an outlet structure
connected to a pipe to carry water to the
Powerhouse. |
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Prices of oil
are ever-increasing and the Government cannot afford to
continue subsidising it. Soon, owners of power stations,
which rely on oil as the source of energy, will soon
realise that it is no more economical to generate
electricity due to the exhorbitant costs of fuel and
operation and maintenance costs of running oil-dependent
power plants. It would therefore make great economic
sense to close or replace the existing oil-dependent
power stations with new ones that are dependent on
renewable source of energy, like wind, wave, solar and
water. |
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Furthermore, environmental laws
are geting more strict and therefore, oil or
coal-dependent power plants have to install
anti-pollution devices to ensure that the surrounding
areas are environmentally protected.
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Wherever you
see a small stream like the one shown in the photo
on the left, you can develop a minihydro power
plant to generate
electricity.
The amount
of electricity that can be produced depends
on the head and quantity of water
available.
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Of all the renewable sources of energy, water is the
better choice because a small-scale hydropower is one of
the most cost-effective and reliable energy technologies to be
considered for providing clean electricity generation. In
particular, the key advantages that small hydro has over wind,
wave and solar power are as follows: - |
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* A high efficiency (70 - 90%), by far the best of all
energy technologies.
* A high capacity factor (typically
>50%), compared with 10% for solar and 30% for wind.
* A
high level of predictability, varying with annual rainfall
patterns.
* Slow rate of change; the output power varies
only gradually from day to day (not from minute to
minute).
* It is a long-lasting and robust technology;
systems can readily be engineered to last for 50 years or
more. |
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For example, the minihydro power plant at Klian Intan,
Perak, which belongs to Rahman Hydraulic Tin Berhad, has been
producing electricity for 83 years. Built in 1924 for a
maximum capacity of 2.0MW, it is still running today to power
the equipment that extracts tin from the mountains. |
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The concrete intake forms
part of the Sg.Plong Minihydro Power Plant at Klian Intan
in Perak, Malaysia. |
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A 500-KW Francis Turbine is installed
at Sg.Plong Minihydro Power Station and has been operating since
1924. |
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Small hydro is in most cases
'run-of-river'; in other words any dam or barrage is quite
small, usually just a weir, and little or no water is stored.
Therefore run-of-river installations do not have the same
kinds of adverse effect on the local environment as
large-scale hydro. Small and mini hydro projects have the
potential to provide energy in remote and hilly areas where
extension of grid
system is un-economical. These projects are economically viable,
environmentally benign and need a relatively short time for implementation.
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For further enquiries or information, please
write to roslan@roslank.com |
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or fill and send the mail
form |
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Address: 8C, Jalan Mesra 1, Taman
Mesra, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
MALAYSIA. |
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Tel: +603-5519
1855 |
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Fax : +603-5519
2866 |
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Mobile: +6013-2020
998 |
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