Design of a Micro Hydro Electric power scheme on river Oruyubu for Bihanga Military Barracks.

Abstract

Energy is an essential requirement for economic development in Uganda. Only 18.1% of Uganda’s population has access to grid electricity with 71.2% of the urban population connected to the national grid compared to 8% of the rural population (A. lekini, 2018). The research was focused on designing the Micro-power scheme on River Oruyubu in Bihanga community. River Oruyubu Power potential and power demand survey were conducted. A design discharge of 1.35m3/s was obtained from the flow duration curve that was plotted for discharge against percentage time. A gross head of 6.8m was obtained using a GPS that was used to obtain the changes at different points. The power potential of 92.1kW from Oruyubu River was obtained and this was higher than the power demand of 55.29kW for Bihanga barracks. This justified that the site was feasible. Mathematical model was used to do sizing of the different components of the micro hydropower scheme basing on the necessary inputs. The power output from the generator was 60.14kW against a net head of 5.39m at the site. The designed model was tested using Python Programming and third-party library of python called Numpy for scientific computation. The power output of 58.7kW from the python model was slightly lower than the power output of 60.14kW from the mathematical model. The model in Python Programming captured the extra losses at the intake which produced the net head of 5.26m as compared to the net head of 5.39m in the mathematical model. Finally the model consistency with respect to user needs was validated using 10-fold cross-validation in python to provide physical proof of the model output accuracy. The model demonstrated accuracy of 88.5% and low bias of 3.1%, hence a better model performance that is fit for project implementation. Therefore, there is need for proper planning and improved generation growth that will solve the availability and reliability of electricity supply while at the same time taking advantage of the rural community opportunities. The Government should consider prioritizing actions on both the demand and supply side by funding such min-hydro systems to facilitate community benefits.