Mother’s Hydroelectric Plant

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One purpose of MOTHER EARTH NEWS' hydroelectric plant is to serve as an education tool for summer seminars.
One purpose of MOTHER EARTH NEWS' hydroelectric plant is to serve as an education tool for summer seminars.
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TOP: Our construction crew prepares to pour the concrete for the civil works. BOTTOM: A system of variable pulleys automatically controls the alternator RPM. 
TOP: Our construction crew prepares to pour the concrete for the civil works. BOTTOM: A system of variable pulleys automatically controls the alternator RPM. 
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At over 900 pounds, the powerplant wasn't easy to maneuver.
At over 900 pounds, the powerplant wasn't easy to maneuver.
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"The brain" of the plant's unique HEXact speed control system resides behind the control panel.
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The turbine and nozzle before concrete was cast around them.
The turbine and nozzle before concrete was cast around them.
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One of MOTHER EARTH NEWS' hard-working Eco-Village employees digs a cofferdam to allow the installation of ten-inch intake pipe.
One of MOTHER EARTH NEWS' hard-working Eco-Village employees digs a cofferdam to allow the installation of ten-inch intake pipe.

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 hydroelectric 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 EARTH NEWS’ 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.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1980
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