NO.122 About power generation experiment by iGP members

On December 21st of last year, I visited a small hydroelectric power generator that everyone from iGP (Inagi Greening Project) is working on. On the day of the event, the members were on site and gave us explanations, and they were very helpful.
iGP is a citizen study group derived from a course at Inagi IC College titled "Sustainable Society and the Sun on Earth," and is engaged in activities to create renewable energy in order to realize a sustainable society. ... apparently ... At iGP, we planned to prototype a mini generator and put it into operation. First, we developed a small hydroelectric generator and were looking for a location where it could be operated on rivers and waterways in the city, and we found that the Daimaru Canal Weir in Bunyobashi Park was a suitable location due to the volume of water and the difference in elevation. I understand, the city has made an offer to set up an experiment.
The city has allowed temporary use because the impact will be limited as it is not a permanent construction and there are no private houses in the area. When they conducted their first experiment in March 2020, they said they felt it had a satisfactory response.
Then, in June 2020, and in May, June, September, and October 2021, we continued to experiment with improvements, and the current form was completed.
A torque of 5 kilogram meters was confirmed in the input from the water turbine to the generator, and it is possible to generate 200 to 500 watts of power, which is said to be enough to cover the power consumption of one house.
At the time of my visit, the illuminations sponsored by the Minamitama Station Sparkling Project Executive Committee were being turned on, and the electricity was being covered by this generator.
iGP is offering this result as an educational program for elementary school students at children's centers and cultural centers, and they hope to extend it to other uses as well.
I think it's wonderful that these citizen-centered courses can lead to the creation of citizen-based independent research groups and further development with the involvement of citizens.
Inagi City has been considering establishing a new municipal electric power company, and we are thinking of starting to establish one in FY2020. The purpose is to promote decarbonization, but as a method, we are primarily considering the use of solar power generation panels.
The use of small hydropower may be commercially difficult, but they all have something in common in the sense that they aim to decarbonize through citizen participation, and I look forward to the start and development of each project.