Anyone using a solar and microhydro system?

[ChrisPSolar]

Hi folks, fairly new to the forum here.

I have an acquaintance that is trying to build a project in Haiti. There is a stream within a half mile of the site and he is weighing the costs of piping water to the site and building a small micro-hydro operation. While Haiti has great sun exposure, almost 8 full sun hours on average, the prospect of producing power 24-7 with a hydro plant has piqued both of our interests.

Anyone have any experience with these micro hydro systems? What are the pitfalls? Moving parts and maintenance would seem to be a concern. Also charge control, can you just shut these things off if the batteries are charged? Thanks for any input, sorry if this isn't the right forum for this discussion.

[Aussie Bob]

Wow, kind of spiked my interest there that micro hydro is even doable. Do you really get enough current to generate power from a water turbine there? I know it works on a big scale, but never knew it could work on a small scale. Interesting. Good luck with the project and don't forget to post some pics if this ever happens.

[ChrisPSolar]

He's saying that a 2kW system would cost around $50k, using cheap labor for most of the work (primarily pipelaying/ditch diggin). Doing some quick math, if this works as planned he'll generate 48 kw-hrs per day, probably reap 34 kw-hrs of that after efficiencies (70% for off-grid?) are taken into account. With a generous 8 full sun-hours a day, and again taking 70% eff, you'd need a 6kw off grid solar system. Equipment alone would be $60k, plus you'd need skilled labor. Sounds pretty good, I'll see if he can send me some pics and keep the forum posted.