Design of a Low-Cost Autonomous Controller, Management and Security System for Pico-Hydroelectric Power Plants

Abstract

In this paper, a new controller, management and security system (CMSS) was proposed to ensure the overall operation of pico-hydroelectric power plants (PHPPs) at low-cost, especially in off-grid sites in remote areas. The proposed system can be used to meet the requirements of the PHPP such as the start-up, the departures' management, the loadfrequency controller (LFC), the emergency stop (ES), and the normal stop procedures in order to guarantee good quality and sustainable services. The system was tested under various conditions to prove its reliability using PHPP prototype. Based on the prototype, the laboratory experimental results are presented. The design's details and the implementation of the system are given as well. The system is completely independent, and it achieved an initial cost of only 266 $. The flexibility makes the system more suitable for extended future improvement such as adding data-logger, adding communication aspects using wireless technologies, etc. Furthermore, the system could be easily adapted for different educational purposes, especially for universities with limited resources.

Experimental Investigation on Recovery of Micro Hydropower Dump Load through Oil Heating System

“…More than 80% of the population in developing countries lives in village without access grid connected electricity (Kumar et al, 2017). Standalone micro hydro power plants are used to provide electricity for some of small communities isolated from the electricity grid (El Hamdaouy et al, 2020). These power plants provide electricity for lamps, radios, televisions and other small electrical appliances (Riaz, 2018).…”