"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
13 January 2005Whatever floats your voltsIt's called "Pico Hydro," and it means pretty much what you think it does: hydroelectric power on a very small scale. James at the Alternative Energy Blog explains:
The streams at the bottom of the valleys are powering a low-tech grid for the people of Da Bac [province in northern Vietnam].
Pico Hydro units need only a constant water supply and a slope with a one-metre drop. This produces a flow rate that can drive a turbine fast enough to generate electricity, providing houses with a direct power supply. In some villages nearly every household has one. Imported 300-watt turbines cost about US$20, and have proved to be the most popular. Certainly you're not going to run a modern American home on 300 watts, but it's enough for a few lights into the night, and maybe the radio. About 120,000 Pico Hydro units are installed in Vietnam, says James, and while they're not incredibly reliable — obviously you're not getting mil-spec for twenty bucks — they're easy, and cheap, to fix. TrackBack: 11:58 PM, 14 January 2005 » Daily linkage from BatesLine Here's a spot-on parody of National Review's group blog, "The Corner". (Hat tip: Overtaken by Events, which also has news about the tsunami relief effort led by their church, St. Gabriel's United Episcopal Church in Springdale, Arkansas.) Don Danz reme......[read more] It'd be nice for power outages. Posted by: Ravenwood at 8:37 PM on 13 January 2005Indeed, even if it lasted only long enough for me to fumble my way to wherever it was I left my lantern. |