Engineering Students at Work

Bringing efficient and sustainable energy to underdeveloped regions of the world can benefit the economy and environment worldwide. Helping provide electricity to rural Africa in particular is a project that could revolutionize a continent.

The student group HELP (Humanitarian Engineering Leadership Program) from Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering are currently working on a project in Africa to bring hydroelectric power to remote areas of Rwanda. In September the group set up two hydroelectric turbines that are powered by water from the region of Banda, located near the border of the Nyungwe National Rainforest. 

The students built the first turbine and brought it to Banda themselves. It can generate enough energy to charge six 12-volt batteries at once. This power can charge 30 batteries a day, which only need to be recharged once every two weeks. 

There have been some problems with the second turbine, which was built entirely with local parts and labor. This turbine’s charge controller, which prevents the batteries from overcharging, has been malfunctioning and team members had to travel several hours to get the parts to repair it.

Part of the reason the group decided to build the second turbine with local parts and labor is to encourage the people of Rwanda to continue the work on their own. It also helps the sustainability of the turbines because the people can learn how to maintain them and have access to the necessary materials.

The current energy output is meeting the town’s demand, though the group hopes to make improvements to increase the output next summer. Some of the residents of Banda have been using the turbine to charge car batteries that they use as the main source of power for their homes. The electricity from these batteries is enough to provide lighting and charge smaller batteries for items like cell phones, radios, and flashlights.

The environmental concerns caused by current methods of acquiring electricity was also a contributor to the group’s decision to get involved. According to the group, every year Africans use nearly 3.8 million tons of kerosene for lighting, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The other major resource used for electricity is wood, which is putting the local rainforests and its inhabitants at risk. The hope is that the success of the turbines could serve as a model for other regions to follow, which could reduce the continent’s impact on climate change.

As for the benefits for the African people, the group estimates the annual cost to run the turbines will be $50 per family, which is about equivalent to the cost of using kerosene, but with higher quality light. The project should be more cost effective than other turbines that have been brought to Africa. At a cost $3500 per kilowatt to produce energy, the foreign-produced turbines cost seven times what the group hopes its turbines will eventually demand.

The group is made up of 15 electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineering students. Some of the students travel to Africa to work on the turbines, while the rest of the team plan, design, and support the project from the US.