Outline
Introduction:
The definition of micro hydropower.
Best location to set up a micro hydropower plant.
Considerations before setting up a micro hydropower plant.
Justification:
Choice of the city: Location of D River, proof that D River can generate electricity, how much power the river can produce.
Choice of type of renewable energy to generate: What is the best source of energy to set up in the area? How much would it cost to set up a plant producing the renewable energy? How much power would it generate? What advantage does the chosen type of renewable energy have over other types?
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Logistical considerations: How will the project management access materials for setting up the plant? How will the generated power reach the households (Power distribution)?
Ethical considerations. How will the project negatively impact on the local community? How will the project affect the environment (Pollution)? Plans for mitigating these effects.
Considerations on structural challenges: Effect of change of parameters on the generation of power and the project will adapt to them. Specifications on the structure of the project.
Marketing plan:
annual power demand against supply by the project and the peak factor. (analysis on whether the project can cater for the power demand): Population and specific energy consumption of the city. The energy deficit of the city. What amount of power will the project supply for the town? Considerations for a power storage requirement.
Marketing strategies: What is the target market for the project and how best can it serve this market? How will the plan ensure it holds the grip of the market?
Mission: What does the project intend to achieve in the short run?
Objectives: What are the intentions of the project to the residents of Lincoln city?
Complementary factors that will make the project successful:
Incorporation of proper and reliable information systems: Definition of an information system. How will information systems contribute to the success of the project?
Comparative advantage: What advantages does the project have over its peers? How will the advantages conferred ensure the success of the project?
Influence of profitability on decision making: How has the promise of achieving profit influenced the setting up of the project? What strategies will the project engage to ensure the trend of making profit remains?
conclusion.
Summary of the project based on the set objectives and analysis if the plan would help achieve the goals highlighted.
Establishing a Micro Hydroelectric power plant along the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon
Introduction
Micro-hydropower plants are hydroelectric power plants that generate small amounts of energy ranging from 5kW to 100kW (Scott, 2003, p. 2). Hydroelectric power is the most reliable renewable energy sources of the 21st century (Breeze, 2014, p. 36). Hydropower plants are in most cases located along rivers with enough potential to run huge turbines that generate electricity. A high waterfall situated along a river with large volumes of water would form an ideal site for establishing a hydropower station. However, it is prevalent to set up a dam along a river channel where a power plant is to be built (Breeze, 2014, p. 37). The essence of the dam is to give the river enough potential energy that would then be converted into electrical energy when the same water, now running faster, is used to rotate the turbines (Breeze, 2014, p. 37). Establishing a hydroelectric power station attracts a high initial cost (Price, 2007, p. 112). Before setting up a hydroelectric power station, it is essential to conduct an economic viability analysis and to develop marketing strategies that would see to it that the gains of the project supersede the initial and running cost of the project in the long run. Setting up a big project requires a proper financial analysis which involves the relationship between the capital cost of installation and the maintenance cost with the revenue to be expected. The result from the above study would help to come up with a cost-benefit analysis, intended rate of return and the return period.
Choice of Lincoln City, Oregon
Lincoln City Oregon is blessed to have the D River. D River is one of the shortest rivers globally and connects the Devils lake to Pacific Ocean (Price, 2007, p. 23). Analysis by electrical engineers shows that a water flow of 400 gallons per minute on a terrain falling 100 feet is enough to generate 4kW (Scott, 2003, p. 127). D River has the potential of producing an average of 10kW of electricity naturally that is in the event a dam is not built. The river has an average discharge rate of 900 gallons per minute (Price, 2007, p. 78). D River provides an excellent site for establishing a micro-hydroelectric power plant.
Choice of type of renewable energy
Unlike other areas that may only have one distinct kind of energy source, Lincoln city, by its geographical location, presents a dilemma. Wind power, hydroelectric power, and tidal power are all possible sources in the town. Of the three, micro-hydroelectric power is the most viable and most comfortable to establish on a small scale in the area. Of all the energy generated globally, clean energy represents 24%. Of this 24%, 17% is contributed by hydroelectric power (Gipe, 2004, p. 213). Setting up a small dam along D River and installing all accessories including modern technology turbines and generators would cost approximately 250000 dollars. This figure is higher than what it would cost to fix small wind power generators in homes. However, the micro hydropower plant will serve more people and be less limited. The micro project upon completion will generate 50kW of electricity which is much higher than what small wind power generators set in homes will generate (Scott, 2003, p. 165). Wind turbines on installing on rooftops generate between 400W to 1kW. Tidal energy, on the other hand, would thrive in an area that experiences a remarkable difference between high tides and low tides (Breeze, 2014, p. 375). Hydroelectric power is thus undisputedly the best for Lincoln city Oregon.
Logistical consideration
The project will source the materials required for construction of the dam as well as the electrical components needed from its locality. Once set up the only logistical issue pending will be the transmission of the power generated from the project. The government of the united states of America has bestowed upon Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent Transmission Organizations the responsibility of transmitting power to all residents. Both the categories of organizations are non-profit. This consideration makes transmission of the energy the project will generate less stressful. The production plant will produce AC power that will be connected directly to the national grid (Scott, 2003, p. 314).
Ethical considerations
Effects to the residents of Lincoln city of setting up the project has been considered. Hydroelectric power is a green source of energy thus release no harmful emissions to the environment. Besides providing the local community with affordable energy, the project will offer employment opportunities to the locals. During construction, the project management plans to employ 50 people. It has, however, been established that if not handled well the project may interfere entirely with the aquatic life within D River (Breeze, 2014, p. 117). The project has taken this seriously and sought advice from an environmental expert with the aim of implementing them. The experts have advised that the turbines be buried deep underground to minimise the noise that would otherwise scare aquatic life upstream (Breeze, 2014, p. 318). Care will also be taken to plant vegetation around the dam to attract even more marine life.
Considerations on structural challenges
Hydropower production is wholly dependent on the potential energy possessed by the river. It is, therefore, only viable when the volume of the river is large enough (Scott, 2003, p. 117). This poses a challenge of power generation when the volume of the river declines. The project management has established that the level of water in D does not fall below the threshold volume at any moment of the year (Price, 2007, p. 415). The project will, therefore, be able to run all year long. This is an advantage of the project over home-based wind turbines. Analysis by engineers has shown that a 1kW wind turbine will only operate if the wind speed is above 3 m/s (Breeze, 2014, p. 254). The turbines will, therefore, remain non-functional when wind speed falls below 3 m/s. A small dam 5 feet tall will be constructed across the river. Advancement in the technology of power production has also been identified as a factor to consider. Suppose a more viable source of energy is invented then it would no longer be cost-effective to keep maintaining the micro hydropower plant. The scenario is, however, just pre-emptive and most likely may never materialize. For the last century, hydropower has remained the single most significant source of renewable energy (Breeze, 2014, p. 311). The latest inventions on solar power generation have not been able to match the potential of hydropower.
Lincoln City, Oregon hydropower project marketing plan
Annual power demand against supply from the project
Lincoln City, Oregon has a population of about 9000 people whose yearly energy demand is estimated to be 20000 MWh (Price, 2007, p. 278). Of the total market, only about 1000 MWh per year is cumulatively generated locally by the home-based wind turbines (Price, 2007, p. 279). The Lincoln city micro hydropower project will create a total of 438 MWh annually. This is still much less than the city's deficit. The project, therefore, has a lot of room for expansion. The project management has a goal of making the project expand to a position where it will be able to supply 2000 MWh in the next five years. The plan will include a storage facility to cater for peak requirements, emergency and to reduce cost.
Marketing strategy
The project has the Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent Transmission Organizations that control the national grid as a ready market. However, care will be taken, through the effective cutting of production cost, to ensure the energy sold to the above government influenced agencies is at an affordable price compared to other institutions that sell the same. The automatic effect to this will be that the organizations will buy more from the project compared to other sources, for example, thermal power plants (Gipe, 2004, p. 613).
Mission
To provide the Lincoln city community with clean and affordable energy thus contributing to the world efforts in mitigating climate change.
Objectives
To effectively harness the natural resource (river water) and convert it to a useful product (energy).
To contribute to lowering cost of living of Lincoln city residence by providing cheap energy.
To participate actively in mitigating climate change.
Complementary factors that will make the project successful
Information systems
An information system is an integration of individual software and hardware that aide an institution to manage its data (Glass, 2007, p. 701). The management process would entail obtaining, sieving, forming, and distributing the data (Glass, 2007, p. 713). The project will exploit a robust information system, firstly, to monitor the generation of power then keep the management team up to date with emerging trends in renewable energy technology across the globe. The management will as well remain updated on emerging consumer behaviors including peak demands. This will keep the project on par with other similar projects and new inventions. It will as well aide the management in the making early and informed decisions when a need arises to adopt new methods of production as well as marketing strategies.
Comparative advantage
The project will exploit the benefits it has over its competitors to ensure it remains afloat (Glass, 2007, p. 693). The project will take advantage of the relatively low production cost compared to other sources of energy, for example, thermal energy and its proximity to Lincoln city to ensure it offers the lowest energy prices in the market. This low cost will attract the buyer to the project (Glass, 2007, p. 700). The project management will remain updated on emerging trends, regularly come up with innovative policies and adopt advanced technologies that will keep the project a step ahead of its peers (Glass, 2007, p. 602).
Influence of profitability on decision making
Energy is a fundamental need of the residence of Lincoln city; the hydropower project is guaranteed to make a profit over time. However, care will be taken to ensure losses are not accrued. The management plans to provide training from time to time to keep the staff with the development of technology for efficient production and supply hence high profitability (Glass, 2007, p. 776). The management has also identified adoption of cheaper modes of production and consideration of newer market as effective strategies to ensure the project always make a profit. This assurance of benefit is reason enough to invest in the project. If the project if profitably viable, the project would consider expanding the project to cover even the neighboring areas of the city.
Conclusion
The discussion on green energy is attracting a lot of attention globally. As the world makes deliberate effort to shift from modes of energy generation that pollute the environment like coal, renewable energy sources are becoming more popular each day. This global attention on the topic sets the stage for profitable investment in the sector. With adequate planning, the Lincoln city micro hydropower project has all it takes to prosper given the community's energy consumption is still higher than the production. This is a rare case where a business idea meets a niche and is offered free publicity.
References
Breeze, P. (2014). Power Generation Technologies. Newnes.
Gipe, P. (2004). Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Glass, R. (2007). The Age of Globalization: Impact of Information Technology on Global Business Strategies. Kindle Press.
Price, N. (2007). The Worlds Shortest River Is Long on Controversy.
Scott, D. (2003). Micro hydro: Clean power from water.
