Micro hydro power lights up life for villagers

This lack of access to energy traps people in a constant cycle of poverty that they are unable to break free from.

Over 1.6 billion people, that’s almost one third of the world’s population, have no electricity and in Africa, four out of five families live without electricity, according to international development charity, Practical Action.

Practical Action has developed small scale micro-hydro schemes with communities in Zimbabwe. These schemes, which are designed to operate for a minimum of 25 years, are usually ‘run-off-the-river’ systems which do not require a big dam but a small diversion facility to be constructed and therefore are much cheaper to develop.

A scheme with a capacity of 20kW is big enough to drive a mill and provide electrical lighting for up to 20 families.

As well as driving a generator to provide electricity, micro-hydro is also used in these areas to supply power to remote villages via rechargeable batteries that can be used for lighting and to play small radios and power TV sets and power refrigerators. Lighting is one of the basic needs of poor people and they can have much better and safer lighting at a lower cost through the use of this technology by replacing candles and kerosene lamps.

Practical Action is different to other development charities in that it uses a participatory approach in all of the work that it carries out in the communities. Engineers from Practical Action will enter a community, assess its needs and resources and also determine the most appropriate technology for the particular conditions.

When micro-hydro is decided upon as the best option, decisions will be made following calculations to determine the most appropriate materials to use and how much the scheme is going to cost based on the number of families it needs to serve, the potential growth of the community and their possible economic development.

It’s also necessary to assess the capacity of the country in producing equipment and components that will fit the needs of the project. Practical Action identifies local firms that might be producing the components. If that capacity is not available, Practical Action provides technology and technical assistance to enable local manufacturers to produce the equipment required.

Once a technology is decided upon and manufactured, it is implemented and then the training begins. Members of the local community will be selected in a participatory manner and trained to manage the operation and maintenance of a micro-hydro system and the community must decide how they will pay for its upkeep – repairs, replacement components etc. A tariff scheme will be devised by the community with Practical Action’s help, ensuring that the scheme will be sustainable and last for many years to come.

Case Study – Chipendeke, Zimbabwe

One such project has recently been implemented in Chipendeke, Zimbabwe, situated along the Chitora River. This micro-hydro scheme provides 25 kW of electrical power which serves almost 100 families. This quantity of energy provides enough electricity for domestic needs such as lighting, as well as providing power to a health centre, school and numerous small businesses, including grinding mills being run by community members.

Practical Action has reported a boost in farmer livelihoods in Chipendeke as a result of the scheme that has been installed in the community.

The scheme provides electricity for the first time to villages where much of the community’s income is generated through farming crops such as maize, wheat, potatoes and tomatoes which can be sold at market. The arrival of electricity to the area has had untold benefits on the efficiency of the farmers and the quality of their produce.

With electricity, farmers can power workshops to repair damaged tools and can also power grinding mills which vastly increases their productivity.

Social life has greatly been enhanced where communities can now watch TV and listen to the radio, keeping them in touch with the rest of the country. Local shop owners are excited to have electricity for refrigerating their products much to the joy of their customers, who have, in turn, boosted their sales.

Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, is the region most off track regarding progress on the MDGs yet the geography and climate make it ideal for renewable energy systems that can provide marginalised people from rural communities with the resources they need to fight their way out of poverty.

Practical Action is leading a Europe-wide initiative, ‘Energy for all 2030’, funded by the European Commission, with the aim of generating the public awareness and political will to make energy access a development priority. For more information visit www.practicalaction.org.