Alternative Technology Product Development

Appropriate Day Good Friday Earth Day

Needs & Potential Needs: 2-5% of rural Sub-Saharan Africa served by electric grids 1.6 billion people in developing countries currently live without electricity International Energy Agency (IEA) estimate that by 2020 developing countries will need to double their electrical power output Potential: 4 million estimated micro-hydro locations worldwide 100,000 family size micro-hydro units in Vietnam

History Invented by Don in Liberia Originally a Surf Model River Model Adaptation EMI Involvement Performance – 178W maximum at 60 RPM

Ultimate Goals Ultimate User: Poor rural household in developing World Desired Characteristics Affordable – for rural farmer making $400/yr Reliable & Durable – 24 hours/day for up to 3 years. Debris protection Simple – easy to install, maintain and replace by poor rural developing world farmer Safe Secure – resistant to theft and vandalism Environmentally Friendly Modular – for scalability Technical Requirements: Stream Flow of 5-20 ft3/sec Power > 300 watts – enough for lights, cell phone, computer Ideal Cost < $100 (production model in developing world) Purchase Plans: 3 year loan payback. Business charging cell phone batteries, etc. Other Potential Models: Backpacker – smaller Villager – larger or linked household models Municipal – for North American municipalities: power or lighting for parks

Summer 2011 – Wedge 2.0 Refinement Goals More efficient prototype: > 300 watts Elegant design for future manufacturing simplicity Cost < $500 (parts only) Method: EMI Design Intensive – this week Wedge 2.0 Fabrication - till end of May Summer testing – throughout summer Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) graciously interested CSU/FMDC requirements – Household requirements especially safe and environmentally safe Not interrupt flow, normal operations or cause erosion. Emergency removal capability.

Summer 2011 – Wedge 2.0 Refinement Goals 3 potential CSU test locations:   Test Duration Purpose Water Width (ft) water depth (in) Average Flow (cu ft / sec) Avg Vel ( m / s) Peak Vel (m/s) JPD WWTP Clean Water Outfall (Public) 4-8 hrs fine-tuning 4 18 14.1 0.72 1.43 Fountain Mutual Ditch (within CSU Las Vegas WWTP) 1-2 months durability 10 24 20 0.30 0.61 Ruxton Hydropower Plant (within CSU fence) flow-range 6 12 0.91 1.83 Glen Eyrie 2 min proof 15   Test Purpose Average Flow Waterway water Avg Vel Peak Vel Duration Cu Ft/sec Width (ft) depth (in) (m/s) JPD WWTP Clean Water Outfall (Public) 4-8 hrs fine-tuning 14.1 4 18 0.72 1.43 Fountain Mutual Ditch (within CSU Las Vegas WWTP) 1-2 months durability 20 10 24 0.30 0.61 Ruxton Hydropower Plant (within CSU fence) flow-range 6 12 0.91 1.83 Glen Eyrie 2 min proof 15

Existing Wedge

Proposed Wedge

Hydrodynamic Modelling

Diverter & Anchoring

Turbine Design – Ultimate Design Prototype vs. Production models Vast differences in the following 3 areas Cost Product Efficiency Product quality

Turbine Design – Ultimate Design Prototype Costs High due to: High Material Costs Buying at consumer prices vs. wholesale for both raw materials and purchased parts High Labor Costs Each part is made individually by hand Manufacturing Costs reduce with volume Material costs are reduced by volume price negotiations Labor costs are reduced with tooling and individualized functions (making the same part many times reduces setup time)

Turbine Design – Ultimate Design Product Efficiency Prototype designs depend largely on commercially available parts and materials Production model can introduce optimum part dimensions and material selection to enhance performance Product Quality Manufacturing tooling increases quality and repeatability Utilizing mold castings Specific repeatable tooling setups Materials and parts Production designs use custom materials and parts as opposed to consumer dimensioned materials

Goals to Lower Costs Integrate different functions to reduce overall number of parts Possibly integrate turbine with generator Integrate the debris guard and anchoring device