SABI Magazine Volume 9 Issue 4 | Page 23

Hydropower The L’Ormarins (Franschhoek) project’s construction involved lifting of pipes with helicopters. the highest efficiency. The higher the efficiency the lower the cost to generate power or the more power you can generate from the flow available. range, and are very simple to operate and maintain, even by the personnel available on the farm. Also both of these types can handle a wide range of flow rate. flow – so you need a few pumps in parallel and the control becomes very complicated, especially if you want to connect to the grid to make use of banking. For the smaller projects - which are very common on farms – there are specifically two types of turbines preferred and that is the “Cross Flow” and Pelton turbines. These turbines cover the total pressure There are a few farmers who have installed normal centrifugal pumps, running them in reverse. This can work but the efficiencies are about half of the turbines and this cannot handle variable Potential in Western Cape The Western Cape is blessed with very high rainfall in certain mountain ranges during winter. All this water must, naturally, flow down towards the dams in the valleys. The elevation of this flow ranges between 200 and 600 metres and this become the ideal places to develop hydropower for energy generation. A few farmers are seeing the possibilities of making use of these opportunities. By using hydropower from the available possibilities, farmers recognise that they can not only ready when you are . small-scale residential & commercial treatment units Fusion ® Series Treatment Systems are drop-in wastewater treatment units designed for use where the effluent quality needs to meet or exceed secondary treatment standards. Designed for residential, commercial, and small community applications. Available in a variety of treatment capacities, the unique design can be installed without a pre-treatment tank, ideal for sites with limited space. • No moving parts • Energy efficient, less than 80 watts • Adjustable to site conditions • Never replace media • Complete package, only 4 connections www.clarusenvironmental.com Local contact: Maskam Water, 021-988-8807 [email protected] | www.maskamwater.com