Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
to fit into existing systems, accessibility to isolated rural communities, and ability
to meet multiple purposes.
The sustainability of hydropower arises from the fact that it uses a renewable
source of energy - water. It is essentially nonpolluting. It is environmentally sound
and acceptable. Hydropower makes maximum use of local resources and, thus,
compared with thermal power, is usually much more appropriate for conditions in
many developing countries, which face shortages of the foreign exchange required
to import fuel oil. Hydropower is largely cost effective and is, to some extent, insu-
lated from inflation. No fuel is required and heat is not involved, so operating costs
are low. Approximately 650 kWh production by a hydropower plant will reduce
the requirement for oil (or its fuel equivalent) by 1 bbl (1 bbl
about 0.16 m 3 ).
Because of this and the durability of the facilities, a hydropower installation is to
some extent inflation proof. Because no heat is involved, the equipment has a long
life, and malfunctioning is uncommon. Dams and control works can perform for
decades, and limited maintenance is required. Hydropower's reliability and flexi-
bility of operation, including fast start-up and shutdown times in response to rapid
changes in demand, makes it an especially valuable part of a large power system of a
developing country. The relative simplicity of a small-scale, hydro-based enterprise
makes energy instantly available. Small-scale hydropower fits nicely into the energy
balance of a country. It can contribute to inter-regional equity by meeting the needs
of isolated rural communities. It can be made available in small installations and
with relative ease in remote areas of developing countries.
The strengths of water mills are that they make use of locally available materials
and are accessible to poor households in remote and inaccessible areas. Water mills
provide a striking but a rare case of a foreign technology that has been almost fully
“indigenized” in rural area. The technology can be fitted nicely into the local farm-
ing system. Appropriate policy instruments should be designed to encourage the
expansion of watermills in areas where water is available. Some of the measures that
could be taken are (1) removing the taxes imposed on water mills, (2) establishing
a water-mill-promotion project within the Rural Technology Promotion Department
of the Ministry of Agriculture or Power, and (3) commissioning feasibility studies.
There is an opportunity of using irrigation pump discharge (water energy) to
generate electricity. This micro-hydropower can be of the most valuable resources
for electricity generation. Several researchers pointed out that application of pump
instead of turbine could be an important alternative solution to turbines, presenting
reasonable efficiencies (Ramos and Borga, 1999; Garey, 1990). Thus, there is an
ample scope to generate electricity from irrigation pumps on a sustainable basis.
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13.7 Bio-energy
Biomass is plant or animal matter. Using biomass (or fuels or wastes derived from
biomass) as a source of energy entails burning it to yield heat that can then drive
engines or generate electricity. The energy in biomass is chemical in nature; it
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