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Hydro Power Generation in a Refugee Camp in Mekhmur Iraq

We have recently received an email from Pablo on behalf of the Economic Committee of a refugee camp S.Rstem Cudi near Mekhmur Iraq. Pablo wants to the technical advice for generating 1 and 3 MW energy for the camp through Hydro Power. And for it, he is looking for advice and information about it, or ideas for alternative methods.

On request for further information on the project, the enquirer replied with the following.

"The camp is next to a hill. The idea is to dig a well on top of the hill and run the water downhill through a pipe and run a Pelton turbine at the end. The estimated depth of the well is about 250 m.

I am aware that this plan seems to defy the laws of physics, but for some reason according to my rough calculations, it can work. So I must be doing something wrong, I guess..

We have 2000 houses, most of them badly isolated. In summer they need cooling 24h a day. In a rough estimate I would say each house needs at least 5 A. We also have about 800 wells, about 50 m deep, but if the big well on the hill works, we wouldn't need them anymore.

We also need to figure out how to potabilize the water from the well.. but that is another issue.

In any case, this will not be enough for the camp, so we need to think of alternative or complementary ways of producing electricity. There is not enough wind, and since this is a desert, the obvious thought is photovoltaic panels, however, there are some problems to that: 1. They are very expensive 2. It is alien technology: nobody here knows how to install them or maintain them (but they are experts in digging wells!) 3. There are frequent dust storms in summer, so they would require constant cleaning

I have seen this, which seems great https://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/17/new-solar-stirling-dish-efficiency-record-of-32-set/, but how realistic is it? How can we get it?

We don't have a specific budget. At the moment we are spending almost $500K a year in diesel for the emergency generators, so every million spent would pay off in 2 years.

The good news is that we already have the complete grid installed with cables and transformers, so distribution is not a problem."

Hydro Power Generation in a Refugee Camp in Mekhmur Iraq

We have recently received an email from Pablo on behalf of the Economic Committee of a refugee camp S.Rstem Cudi near Mekhmur Iraq. Pablo wants to the technical advice for generating 1 and 3 MW energy for the camp through Hydro Power. And for it, he is looking for advice and information about it, or ideas for alternative methods.

On request for further information on the project, the enquirer replied with the following.

"The camp is next to a hill. The idea is to dig a well on top of the hill and run the water downhill through a pipe and run a Pelton turbine at the end. The estimated depth of the well is about 250 m.

I am aware that this plan seems to defy the laws of physics, but for some reason according to my rough calculations, it can work. So I must be doing something wrong, I guess..

We have 2000 houses, most of them badly isolated. In summer they need cooling 24h a day. In a rough estimate I would say each house needs at least 5 A. We also have about 800 wells, about 50 m deep, but if the big well on the hill works, we wouldn't need them anymore.

We also need to figure out how to potabilize the water from the well.. but that is another issue.

In any case, this will not be enough for the camp, so we need to think of alternative or complementary ways of producing electricity. There is not enough wind, and since this is a desert, the obvious thought is photovoltaic panels, however, there are some problems to that: 1. They are very expensive 2. It is alien technology: nobody here knows how to install them or maintain them (but they are experts in digging wells!) 3. There are frequent dust storms in summer, so they would require constant cleaning

I have seen this, which seems great https://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/17/new-solar-stirling-dish-efficiency-record-of-32-set/, but how realistic is it? How can we get it?

We don't have a specific budget. At the moment we are spending almost $500K a year in diesel for the emergency generators, so every million spent would pay off in 2 years.

The good news is that we already have the complete grid installed with cables and transformers, so distribution is not a problem."