Open Source Hydro Power

GlobalAnchor.org - open source hydro power

"Hydro power is one of the oldest ways of transforming energy and making it usable. With the help of a turbine, the potential and kinetic energy of water is transformed into rotation, kinetic energy. This movement can then be transformed into electrical energy with the help of an alternator or generator.

Global Anchor is focusing on small scale hydro power plants, which means there is very little impact on the environment. There is no huge dams, which cut off the natural flow of a river, for example." (http://www.globalanchor.org/website/hydro-power-in-a-nutshell)

"Global Anchor is a non-profit organization, supporting the development of Open Source Hydro Power solutions for Rural Electrification. We want to provide robust, low-maintenance, low-cost, highly-capable and safe machines that will increase the proliferation of hydroelectricity and make a significant contribution to remote area electrification in a sustainable way. As part of the Open Source movement we hope to simplify the creation and sharing of micro hydro power machines to satisfy energy needs and bring light to remote areas." Status: According to our preliminary road map we are able to start prototyping our first design (1KW Banki Turbine) in January 2012." (http://www.globalanchor.org/website)

"Open Source Hardware could be seen as the second generation of open source, because the idea is basically the same. The only difference is the product, which is hardware. The hardware layout and design (i.e. manufacturing drawings, mechanical drawings, bill of materials, schematics, documentation, manuals etc.) is all released with the approach to share it. By sharing and collaborating products could be improved easily and everyone is able to contribute in the best manner he is able to do so." (http://www.globalanchor.org/website/what-is-open-source)

For more information about this project please download the Flyer "Global Anchor in a nutshell" (http://www.globalanchor.org/GA_nutshell.pdf) and / or check out their website, available at http://www.globalanchor.org.