permaculture

["Andrew Clements" <jara@otenet.gr>]

   Dear All ,

   I have been researching hydro-power recently and wondered if any one out
there could help me .

    I am developing an edible forest garden in the mountains in Greece , as
I have said in earlier posts.  The garden has an abundant supply of fast
flowing water in the form of a mountain stream and a number of waterfalls .
I have a potential head in excess of 30 metres ( 100 + ft) and a good , fast
flow rate year round. I am unsure of the specifics of the flow but the
available water would easily fill a 5cm (2 inch) plastic tube and the water
is flowing very fast . My electricity demand would be pretty low (not in
excess of 300-500 watt hour)

    The main challenge that I face is the usual one - ie money ;-) . The
minimum outlay for a basic system seems to be about 2-3000 dollars/euros . I
would like to find a way of reducing this initial outlay as much as possible
. The two solutions I have thought of are , firstly a do-it-yourself system
.This does not seem feasible because of the potential inefficiency of a
novice's system . The second solution I have thought of is the purchase of a
second-hand generator . Could anyone possibly tell me where I can get a
second-hand generator from preferably in Greece or suggest another solution
to reduce my initial outlay .


Yours ,

Andrew .