Small Decentralized Hydropower Program National ... - Cd3wd.com

consumidor es la persona principal y se ;o debe
entrenar para in&alar y operar su propia planta aun
cuando sea de lo m&s simple y 61 debe traer sus pro-
blemas a un punto central que pudiera ser una
e&.&n de energia de mayor capacidad que tenga un
taller de ingenieria coma se ha mencionado
anteriormente. De este modo estamos estudiando
patrones similares a 10s desarrollados para propor-
cionar servicios medicos a bajo costo.
En sintesis, es responsabilidad de 10s planificadores
hater un estudio general de la tecnologia y el tipo de
desarrollo necesario v auspiciar las primeras instala-
ciones. Es necesario que ellos desarrollen sistemas de
entrenamiento, manufactura local, abastecimiento y
mantenimiento de repuestos. Esto ser8 determinado
por la escala y variation de 10s tamanos de las
plantas.
Inspecciones de Lugar
La inspeccidn de1 lugar es una de las tareas mas
importantes en pequenas plantas hidraulicas y debe
ser realizada por una persona bien informada de1
diseno y la instalacion. En proyectos de menos de
100 kW se recomienda que todas las tareas Sean
realizadas por las mismas personas. Esto proporciona
continuidad en las diferentes etapas, dando a 10s in-
staladores el beneficio de su inspection o diseno o, en
case contrario, teniendo que sufrir las consecuencias.
Hay mucho mayor satisfaction cuando una in-
stalacion completa ha sido operada por el mismo
grupo, cuando no hay ocasidn de hechar la culpa a
otros cuando algunos aspectos no resulten de acuerdo
a 10s planes. No hay razon en absoluto de enviar in-
spectores que tengan poca experiencia con plantas
hidraulicas pequerias, o que no tengan perfect0
entendimiento de las posibilidades. Cuanto mas gente
este envuelta mayor sera la oportunidad de fallas
debidas a la falta de comunicacion entre las partes.
Es mejor tener especialistas en 10s diversos ter-
ritorios que puedan responder al llamado de personas
claves en case de necesidad.
Fabricantes
Las posibilidades son muy escazas de que haya sufi-
ciente trabajo coma para comenzar una compania
especificamente para producir equip0 hidroelectrico.
De modo que la tecnologia y las destrezas pueden ser
introducidas a una compania existente o se puede
iniciar una companiia de ensamble y diseno a bajo
costo y sub-contratar la mayoria de1 trabajo pesado.
Tecnologia
Trabajos Civiles. La proportion de1 presupuesto
que se debe gastar en 10s trabajos civiles de prepara-
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Technology
Civil Works. The proportion of the budget that
is spent on civil works varies from site to site,
but there are several considerations that should
be taken into account at the planning stage.
Firstly, capital and maintenance costs are
closely related, i.e. the better you build, the less
you will have to spend annually on maintenance.
It should be noted that if a structure cannot with-
stand the worst flood or landslip, etc., then it is
far better to regard certain parts of the civil
works as expendable. This applies particularly to
the construction of dams. In many cases the
construction of a dam can be totally avoided by
increasing the length of the intake channel so
that it arrives at the river at or below the level of
the bed. If a dam is constructed and it fails dur-
ing a flood, it may not be possible to make
repairs until the dry season and at considerable
cost in lost power and materials. If, on the other
hand, a ‘seasonal intake’ is used, the damage
that can be done during a flood can be rectified
in a few days at most and as the water level
falls, so it is unlikely that any generating time
will be lost at all.
Where possible, on-site materials should be
used for the construction of the intake channel .
and only in exceptional cases will the channel be
concreted. This is just one illustration of how the
technology used will affect the cost and local
maintenance of a scheme.
Mechanics. The most common call in micro
hydro machinery manufacture is to standardize,
and the manufacturers always say that it is not
possible. I would say that it is not wise to think
in terms of standard machines because no one is
going to waste 20 meters of head because his
machine is designed for 50 meters of head and
not 70 meters. Because the high cost is in get-
ting the water to the machine, and there is little
cost saving in mass production, what I would
advocate is a standard, or number of standard
systems, where the details of the site are fed in.
Using these systems, we build a machine.
The traditional criteria used to plan micro
hydro installations may not apply - namely, all
year round power, engineer maintenance,
industrial world supplies. It may be found that
the small number of kilowatts generated during
the dry season does not justify the extra expense
of another small turbine or a variable flow
machine. It should be noted that two fixed