Thingan Tri-Hybrid Energy System

Thingan Tri-Hybrid Energy System

Back in 2013, when Thingan was not connected with the national grid a tri-hybrid off-grid energy system comprised of wind, solar photovoltaic and hydropower was developed which is one of its kind in Nepal and only successfully implemented system . 90% of households in Makwanpur District still rely on firewood and agricultural waste for cooking  creating reliance on traditional cooking using solid fuels which has low efficiency and is disastrous to environment.

In 2013 AD, the CEPTE Lab at Kathmandu University, in collaboration with Seoul National University, Korea, Gyeongsang National University, Korea, Hanyang University, Korea, Chobuk International University, Korea, EWHA Womans University, Korea, KAIST, Korea, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, and the Nepal Solar Volunteers Corps, installed the Thingan Tri-Hybrid Energy System. However, after a few years of operation, due to a variety of factors, most notably a lack of proper maintenance and lightning, the wind and solar systems were no longer operational as of around 2016. GridVille-KU performed a status monitoring of the site as part of work package 2.

Location:

The solar-wind hybrid system is located in Thingan, a village at 27°26′ 36.54″N and 85°14’43.73″E and the elevation of 1347 meters above sea level. The windmill generates 3kW of power, while the PV system generates 5kW. The micro-hydro power (MHP) plant is located in Kolkhop village (27°27’15.57″N and 85°12’55.81″E, 931 m, Makawanpur District, 7 km from Thingan) and can generate 20kW of power.

Proposed GridVille System:

  • Since, people in Thingan rely solely on micro-hydro, Gridville intends to resurrect the PV-wind system in order

to increase the village’s power supply.

Objectives:

  • To perform refurbishment works on solar photovoltaic and wind systems to bring them at operational status.
  • To install an efficient mode of irrigation system for agriculture.

System Status:

  • The current carrying conductor exiting the wind turbine has been damaged.
  • The lightning arrester system is malfunctioning.
  • The powerhouse houses charge controllers, inverters, a wind-solar hybrid charge controller, a data logger,

and batteries

  • All batteries have low acid level.
  • Charge controllers are destroyed by the lightning.
  • Inverters and wind-solar hybrid charge controller are not working.
  • The wiring of the system is detached and the data logger is disconnected.

Expected Outcomes:

  • Refurbishment of solar pv and wind system and bringing them into operation, providing stable electricity output 

through synchronization of the sources and battery storage (Efficiency 72-78%).

  • Utilization of energy for Irrigation purpose by using different suitable pumps i.e., Multistage Centrifugal Pump

(Efficiency 15%-65.7%), Solar Pump (Efficiency up to 39%)

  • Building technical capacity in tri-hybrid System at community level.

Socio-Economic Outcomes:

  • Utilization of electricity by locals at Thingan Village.
  • Water pumping for irrigation.
  • Operation of Rice mill for the community.