MOTHER'S ELECTRIC HYDROELECTRIC PLANT

Image Gallery One of the hydroelectric plant's primary purposes is as an education tool for MOTHER's summer seminars.

Energy independence is possible... with an automatically controlled, build-it-yourself, 110-volt AC hydropower system!

Thirty years ago, when nuclear power was little more than a scientific dream (and hadn't yet had the chance to become a nightmare), hydropower provided roughly 15% of the electricity consumed in the United States. But now — with the advent of the "atomic age" — water-generated power accounts for a mere 5% of our electricity . . . because of the idling of older plants and a lack of new construction, coupled with a dramatic rise in this country's consumption of power.

Yet today, despite its much-decreased role, hydropower is one of the least expensive (and, perhaps, most environmentally benign) sources of electricity available in the nation. In an age when the costs of fossil-fueled and nuclear-fired plants are soaring, renewable hydroelectric energy seems to be on the verge of rebirth.

You might be surprised to know, however, that the "water power awakening" is not coming in the form of huge dams and multimegawatt turbines . . . instead, it's happening on a small (and in many cases private) scale. During the 1970's, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified over 20,000 existing U.S. dams potentially suitable for hydroelectric development. And the combination of ever-increasing kilowatt-hour costs, electronic improvements that allow the construction of automatic hydropower controls, and available tax credits for renewable energy is making it economically attractive for almost anyone with an adequate creek to develop his or her own power-producing site.

As it happens, MOTHER's Eco-Village had — when we acquired the property — a prime example of a dam and reservoir just begging to have a hydroelectric plant installed. So, during the summer of 1979, we began searching for equipment to build our own plant . . . a task which proved to be easier said than done!

There were, it seems, a number of factors which narrowed our potential sources. First, because the Eco-Village dam is only 15 feet high, most of the standard packages — which include high-head Pelton wheels — were out of the question. Furthermore, the nearest structure for which the water-watts could be used was already built and wired for standard AC voltage. And our decision to be independent of the utility demanded that we employ either a DC generator and inverter or an AC alternator.

The cost of each approach proved to be shocking, so we turned to a hydropower consulting firm in Los Angeles (Energy Research & Applications) for some assistance in coming up with an acceptable system . . . in terms of both capability and price. ER&A's hydrotechnical engineer, George Balalau, combined a number of established concepts to form a package which, to the best of our knowledge, is unique . . . and which, for the many people faced with problems similar to those that we encountered, could represent a bona fide home hydropower breakthrough!