By Daniele Novara
Achieving a PhD degree is always wonderful, even more so if it comes after three years spent working side-by-side with fabulous colleagues on a project as interesting and eco-conscious as Dwr Uisce. After defending my thesis in mid-January, I have eventually submitted the final hardbound copy of the PhD thesis and applied for graduation later this year. The subject of the dissertation was the development of design guidelines for Pumps-as-Turbines in water conduits developed via desk studies and lab experiments, which culminated in the construction of the two two demonstration sites of Micro-hydropower Energy Recovery Systems.
In the meantime, I have started a part-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, which will allow me to continue the lab work on hydropower and to disseminate the results from the two operational demo sites.
As an example of this, the status of the Irish hydro pilot installation in Blackstairs Group Water Scheme is being constantly monitored. Since its startup in October 2019 and until the end of March 2020 the scheme has generated over 10,300 kWh since its startup which is equivalent to the yearly consumption of 2.5 average Irish households.
Power output at Blackstairs GWS in March
Monthly energy generation at Blackstairs GWS
The monthly energy production has been very constant with an average of 1,715 kWh/month, and in March 2020 this has ramped up to over 2,000 kWh/month thanks to the adoption of an improved operational strategy.