A Low-Cost Sustainable Energy Solution for Pristine Mountain Areas of Developing Countries

Shakil Rehman Sheikh, Syed Hassan Raza Shah, Umar Rauf, Fawad Rauf, Zareena Kausar, Umair Aziz, Muhammad Faizan Shah, Haseeb Yaqoob and Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi
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Shakil Rehman Sheikh: Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Sector E-9, Air University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Syed Hassan Raza Shah: Aerospace Engineering Department, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Umar Rauf: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
Fawad Rauf: College of Business, Engineering and Technology, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Texarkana, TX 75503, USA
Zareena Kausar: Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Sector E-9, Air University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Umair Aziz: Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Sector E-9, Air University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muhammad Faizan Shah: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
Haseeb Yaqoob: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: The rise in energy requirements and its shortfall in developing countries have affected socioeconomic life. Communities in remote mountainous regions in Asia are among the most affected by energy deprivation. This study presents the feasibility of an alternate strategy of supplying clean energy to the areas consisting of pristine mountains and forest terrain. Southeast Asia has a much-diversified landscape and varied natural resources, including abundant water resources. The current study is motivated by this abundant supply of streams which provides an excellent environment for run-of-river micro vertical axis water turbines. However, to limit the scope of the study, the rivers and streams flowing in northern areas of Pakistan are taken as the reference. The study proposes a comprehensive answer for supplying low-cost sustainable energy solutions for such remote communities. The suggested solution consists of a preliminary hydrodynamic design using Qblade, further analysis using numerical simulations, and finally, experimental testing in a real-world environment. The results of this study show that the use of microturbines is a very feasible option considering that the power generation density of the microturbine comes out to be approximately 2100 kWh/year/m 2 , with minimal adverse effects on the environment.

Keywords: run-of-the-river power generation; vertical axis water turbine (VAWT); remote communities; micro-hydro power; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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