Prospect of a Pico Hydro Power Plant Based on

Irrigation Pump in Perspective of Rural Areas in

Bangladesh
Musaddeque Anwar Al-Abedin Syed*, M. M. Naushad Ali*, Fakir Sharif Hossain*, Shah Ahsanul Haque* and Abdul
Hasib Siddique**
* **
International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh, The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abstract-- This Paper presents the design aspects of a Pico Hydro Micro hydro power (MHP) and Pico Hydro power (PHP)
power plant (PHP) using the water from conventional irrigation plants have become a topic of escalating interest due to their
pumps, which are widely used for agricultural purposes in the environment friendliness and acceptable prices for generating
rural areas of Bangladesh. In addition, it also presents the viable available electricity. MHP and PHP are eco-friendly renewable
prospects of PHP as an electricity generating system in perspective energy sources since these resources can be sized and designed
of Bangladesh. Bangladesh, being a developing country with
to limit the interference with river flow, canal flow, or ditch
perpetual shortage of electricity and facing numerous hardships
towards generating it, is constantly in search of an alternative flow [3]. The generators of MHP or PHP plants may be self-
source of energy, in which case, Renewable Energy has gained excited induction generators (SEIGs), synchronous generators
quite a reputation for. A conventional irrigation pump is the main with field excitation, or permanent-magnet generators (PMG)
source of water for our proposed design. The hydro energy from [3]-[4]. To determine the value of excitation capacitors and the
the flow of water rotates a particularly designed Pelton turbine, loading on 1-10 kW induction generators for SHP, MHP and
which is one of the major parts of our PHP. In addition, the PHP applications was described in the design criteria [5].
proposed PHP unit consists of a mechanical shaft connected to a
larger wheel, fan belts, one single phase permanent-magnet The Micro Hydro and Pico hydro are hydro power with a
generator (PMG) and a simple battery charging system for
maximum electrical output of 100kW and 5kW respectively
charging batteries for different electrical appliances.
[6]. Normally, MHP or PHP systems are found at rural or hilly
Index Terms-- Renewable energy, Pico hydro power (PHP), areas [7]. These systems will operate using upper water
irrigation water, irrigation pump, permanent-magnet reservoir which is a few meter high from ground. From the
generator (PMG), turbine, rural electrification reservoir, water flows downhill through the piping system. This
downhill distance is called “head” and it allows the water to
accelerate for prime moving system. Thus, the turbine will
INTRODUCTION rotate the alternator to produce electricity [7].

This paper proposes a design of a PHP in a village of

Bangladesh, with an estimated population of over 162 Bangladesh. An irrigation pump, generally used to irrigate a
million is currently rated as one of the most densely populated farming land, is used as the main source of water for the PHP.
countries of the world. Having almost 73% of its total Instead of a water reservoir, the pump is installed a few meters
population living in the rural areas of the country, Bangladesh above ground level to account for the head of the water. The
is greatly dependent on its agriculture. In the 21st century, water from the pump is then driven through a pipeline
average energy consumption per person is one of the indicators (penstock) towards a specially manufactured Pelton turbine.
for economic development of a country. At present per capita The turbine is the prime mover of the shaft of the PMG. The
electricity consumption of Bangladesh is only 169.92 KWh (FY hydro power which rotates the turbine is thus converted to
-2006) [1]. Moreover, more than 20,000 villages in the country electrical energy by the PMG. Finally the electrical energy
are still deprived from electricity [2]. This deprivation not only produced by the PMG is stored in one or multiple batteries
affects their daily life standards, it also hampers their economic using a simple battery charging circuit. And in the process, a
development. Different crops produced in the villages very negligible amount of the original extracted water is lost,
contribute towards a large part of Bangladesh’s economy. and thus the water continues its venture for irrigating the
Facing the hazards of global warming and climate change, and farming lands.
due to decreasing amount of rainfall, irrigation pumps are now
an inseparable part of farming and agricultural process in the SCENARIO OF BANGLADESH AND SCOPE OF PHP
country. But due to the lack of electricity, a large number of
these pumps are driven using alternate sources of energy, which Difficulties towards generating electricity have turned out to
is diesel in almost every case. be a national crisis for Bangladesh. Today, with a continuous
growth of demand for it, the citizens as well as the government batteries using a simple battery charging circuit. Figure 1 shows
of Bangladesh considers generating electricity as one of the a simple block diagram of the proposed system, and Figure 2
main concerns of the country. But problems related to energy shows the schematic diagram of the whole Pico Hydro Power
factors (oil price hike) and ecological aspects (climate change) Plant. The subsystems of the proposed PHP are introduced
bring this concern on the top of the priority list. Table 1 gives below.
an overview of the situation of electricity in Bangladesh [1].

TABLE1
OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY IN BANGLADESH

TOTAL INSTALLED
CAPACITY 6760 MW Mar-11
Fig. 1: Block diagram of proposed system
BPDB 3974MW Mar-11
IPP 1330 MW Mar-11
SIPP & RENTAL 1230 MW Mar-11 A. Irrigation Pump
REB 226 MW Mar-11
Present Generation Capability 6208 MW Mar-11 The choice and installation of the irrigation pump depends
Average Maximum Demand 6500 MW Mar-11 mainly on the following factors.
Maximum Demand Served 22nd April,
So Far 4724.1MW 2011
i. Head Measurement
Average Daily Load Shedding 1900 MW Mar-11

There are many methods of head measurement [9]. However,

In a country which is mainly based on its agricultural since the proposed Pico-hydro system uses ground water from
productivity, the number of irrigation pumps to enhance the irrigation pump, the simplest and most practical method for
farming process is without any doubt, large enough. And due to head measurement is water-filled tube and calibrated pressure
the insufficiency of electricity, most of them are powered by gauge. Through this method, the pressure gauge reading in psi
fuels. Table 2 shows an approximation of different types of can be converted to head in meters using the following equation
irrigation pumps used in the villages of Bangladesh [8]. So it is of pressure to head conversion [9]:
eminent that using the irrigation pumps for dual purposes, i.e.
for providing water to the farming land and also for the PHP H = 0.704 x P (1)
system, results in a very cost effective way of producing
electricity in the villages of Bangladesh. The proposed system Where,
can be installed in a considerably low cost and maintained H = Head (m)
locally by the villagers, who are considered to be the backbone P = Pressure (psi)
of the country’s economy.
ii. Water Flow Rate Measurement
While the constant endeavor for producing electricity in any
means possible is undergoing in the country, PHP projects The simplest method of flow measurement for small amount
using irrigation pumps can add an extra advantage to the of water is the bucket method [9]. Therefore, this method has
regular power generating projects. These can at least electrify a been used due to the capacity of the proposed hydro power
small community or a small village and thus share the burden system is significantly small. Through out this method, the flow
of electrification of the nation, with the larger projects such as of the water from the irrigation pump is diverted into a bucket
the Rural Electrification Board (REB) of Bangladesh. and the time it takes to fill the container is recorded. The
volume of the bucket is known and the flow rate is calculated
by dividing this volume by the time it takes to fill the bucket.
PROPOSED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
By obtaining proper head and water flow rate measurements,
In the system, the irrigation pumps, used to lift water from
the PHP system can be designed using respective ratings of
underneath the earth’s surface, may vary in their specifications.
irrigation pumps.
Various irrigation pumps with different lifting powers will
result in different water flow rates (m3/s). The pump is installed
According to the statistics provided in Table 2, the most
at a definite height above the ground level for the desired head
common and extensively used irrigation pumps in Bangladesh
(m). The water is then piped down through a diagonal pipeline
are the ones that are operated by diesel. In this type of irrigation
(penstock) towards a turbine. The hydraulic torque rotates the
equipment, a diesel engine is coupled with a centrifugal water
blades of the turbine producing a rotational force. This
pump, with the help of a coupling belt. The assembled unit is
rotational force then drives the shaft of the PMG to produce
then installed at the desired height from ground level. Figure 3
electric power. The power produced from the permanent
shows the assembled form of the irrigation equipment.
magnet DC generator is then used to charge one or multiple
 OUTPUT
POWER
FROM
PENSTOCK GENERATOR

WATER FLOW
BELT DIRECTION
COUPLING
Battery Charging Circuit
Diesel Engine Centrifugal Pump
Permanent
Magnet
DC Generator
Pelton Turbine
with 8 Blades
Battery
Fig. 2: Schematic Diagram of the Pico Hydro Power Plant

TABLE 2
DIFFERENT TYPES OF IRRIGATION PUMPS USED IN BANGLADESH

Operated by Electricity Operated by Diesel Total

Type of equipment Name of organization
Units
Units Units
PDB REB TOTAL
BADC 887 11217 12104 1624 13728
BMDA 844 11587 12431 23 12454
DTF
Others 465 4960 5425 1305 6730
Total 2196 27764 29960 2952 32912

BADC 0 0 0 0 0
BMDA 0 0 0 0 0
STW
Others 20330 204346 224676 1200460 1425136
Total 20330 204346 224676 1200460 1425136

BADC 31 493 524 1496 2020

BMDA 1 6 7 0 7
LLP
Others 1272 9230 10502 138084 148586
Total 1304 9729 11033 139580 150613

DTW+STW+LLP 23830 241839 265669 1342992 1608661

Manual & Artesian well 0 0 0 0 0
Traditional Method 0 0 0 0 0
Gravity flow 0 0 0 0 0
COUNTRY TOTAL 23830 241839 265669 1342992 1608661

B. Penstock C. Pelton Turbine

In order to utilize the irrigation system, the common pipeline Pelton turbine has been commonly used in numerous small
for transporting water to the farming lands for irrigation is used scale hydro power systems [9], particularly in Pico hydro
as the penstock of the PHP system. The diameter of the systems due to its suitability [12]-[14], i.e. it can be used for
penstock thus depends on the diameter of the outlet of the pump medium head and medium flow applications. It can be outfitted
and the length depends on the head of water desired.
 LM317K
U2

2 3
IN OUT

AD J
C3
R3

1
0.22uF
120

R2
C2 470
C1 0.22uF Q1
TO BATTERY
DC VOLTAGE IN
1000uF
R4
IC = 40V R5
100
Value = 1K
BC548A
Source Package = POT
R1
0 0.5

Fig. 4: Battery Charger Circuit using LM317

CALCULATIONS
Fig. 3: Diesel engine coupled with a centrifugal water pump
According to the principle of conservation of energy, “power
can neither be created nor destroyed”. So basically, power
with one, two, or more nozzles for higher output. Typically,
produced by a hydro power system is converted from one form
when using this type of turbine, water is piped down through a
to another. And in the process some is lost at each stage as
penstock so that at the lower end of the pipe, it emerges from a
illustrated in Figure 5 [7].
narrow nozzle as a jet with very high velocity to the turbine
blades. Pelton turbines are also easy and less expensive to
From the figure, it can be seen that the first stage of loss is
manufacture with specific dimensions using materials such as
the power loss in the pipeline or the penstock due to friction.
PVC pipes. Thus it is selected as the turbine for the proposed
Before the losses in the pipelines are taken into account, the
system.
drop is referred as the gross head and after the losses have been
subtracted, it is called the net head. In this proposed system, all
D. Permanent Magnet Generator
equations have already considered the friction loss, and thus the
net head is used.
In this proposed system, a permanent magnet DC generator
is used. One significant advantage of using DC type of PMG is
that DC generator is designed to provide high currents at
minimum voltage requirement for the charging of battery and 1. Hydro Power 3. Electrical Power
(From water jet) (From the generator)
operation of direct current loads [10]. Moreover, permanent
magnet generator is selected as it is much cheaper and has
smaller overall size rather than that of wound field. Other than Power loss in Power loss from
that, this type of generator is more efficient because no power is penstock = up generator = 20%
wasted to generate the magnetic field [10]. to 30% to 30%

E. Battery charger circuit 2. Mechanical Power

(From the turbine)

Figure 4 shows a simple battery charging circuit which is

used to charge the batteries using the DC voltage produced by Power loss from
the PMG. IC LM 317, an adjustable voltage regulator IC, is the turbine = 30%
heart of the circuit. The charging voltage and current is
controlled by the transistor Q1, resistor R1 and POT R5. When
an uncharged battery is connected to the charging terminals, the Fig. 5: Power loss at different stages of hydro power generation
current through resistor R1 increases. This in turn increases the
current and voltage from LM 317. When the battery is fully So the output hydraulic power available from the hydraulic
charged the charger reduces the charging current and the turbine is as follows [11]:
battery will be charged in the trickle charging mode. The
batteries then can be used to operate different electrical Phyd = ρ g H Q (2)
appliances, both DC and AC (using an inverter), such as energy
saving bulbs, fans, fluorescent lights and in some cases, even Where
televisions. ρ = the specific density of water (1000 kg/m3)
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2) TABLE 4
OUTPUT POWER FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF IRRIGATION PUMPS WITH DIFFERENT HEADS
H = net head of water (m)
Q = water flow rate (m3/s) Net Hydraulic
Head Net Power Available from
HP Power P=
(m) Generator (Watts)
For the proposed Pico hydro system, the biggest loss usually *Q*H*g (Watts)
occurs when the power in the water pipeline is converted into
rotating, mechanical power by hitting the turbine blades, i.e. 1 179.34 – 196.00 87.87 – 96.04
30% of the total hydro power is lost going out from the 2 358.68 – 392.00 175.74 – 192.08
penstock to the turbine. A further 20% to 30% will be lost in 4
3 538.02 – 588.00 263.61 – 288.12
the generator when the mechanical power is converted to
electricity. Thus, the rule of thumb for efficiency to estimate the 4 717.36 – 784.00 351.48 – 384.16
potential output power is normally 50% [12]. 1 212.66 – 245.00 104.20 – 120.05
2 425.32 – 490.00 208.40 – 240.10
So the final output, the electrical power generated from the 8
generator is as follows: 3 637.98 – 735.00 312.60 – 360.15
4 850.64 – 980.00 416.80 – 480.02
Pout = η Phyd (3)
1 261.66 – 294.00 128.21 – 144.00

Where 2 523.32 – 588.00 256.42 – 288.00

12
η = system efficiency 3 784.98 – 882.00 384.63 – 432.00
4 1046.64 – 1176.00 512.84 – 576.00
To obtain a clear projection of the output for the proposed
PHP, several field studies were carried out and data were 1 313.60 – 343.00 153.66 – 168.07
collected from various villages of Bangladesh, where the 2 627.20 – 686.00 307.32 – 336.14
irrigation pumps are used. 16
3 940.80 – 1029.00 460.98 – 504.21

While collecting data, the bucket method, as discussed 4 1254.40 – 1372.00 614.64 – 672.28
earlier, has been used to find the approximation of water flow 1 359.66 – 392.00 176.23 – 192.08
rate for different types of pumps that are being extensively used
2 719.32 – 784.00 352.46 – 384.16
in different rural parts of Bangladesh, and the results are 20
recorded in Table 3. 3 1078.98 – 1176.00 528.69 – 576.24
4 1438.64 – 1568.00 704.92 – 768.32
TABLE 3
MEASURED WATER FLOW RATE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF IRRIGATION PUMPS 1 408.66 – 441.00 200.24 – 216.09
Water Flow (Litres per 2 817.32 – 882.00 400.48 – 432.18
HP Water Flow (m3/s)
minute) 24
3 1225.98 – 1323.00 600.72 – 648.27
4 1100-1200 0.0183-0.02
4 1634.64 – 1764.00 800.96 – 864.36
8 1300-1500 0.0217-0.025

12 1600-1800 0.0267-0.03
country, especially in the villages, this system of generating
power can turn out to be a blessing of modern technology for
16 1900-2100 0.032-0.035 the poor people, for whom lack of electricity is one of the main
causes for their low standard of living. Moreover, it can offer
20 2200-2400 0.0367-0.04 considerable financial benefits to the communities served,
24 2500-2700 0.0417-0.045
particularly where careful planning identifies income-
generating uses for the power. The future work of this paper
involves the successful implementation of the proposed PHP,
acquiring the practical outputs of the system and its further
After obtaining the results for the water flow rates from the modification for better adaptation to the rural areas of
field studies, and using (2) and (3), Table 4 illustrates an developing countries such as Bangladesh.
approximation of the generated power for the proposed PHP on
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