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Hydro Up North

OVERVIEW

Sponsor

Inian Islands Institute

My Role

Mechanical Engineer Environmental Engineer

To install a new 10kW micro-hydroelectric generator for the Inian Islands Institute, a remote off-grid field school off the coast of Juneau, Alaska dedicated to educating students in environmental science and leadership.

OBJECTIVE

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Old 7.5 kW generator

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New 10 kW generator

I traveled with 4 other Dartmouth students and engineering professor Douglas Van Citters to the Inian Islands, Alaska where we worked with an on-site engineer to evaluate the site, develop a plan of action, and install the hydroelectric generator.

We installed a new tailrace, repaired the intake piping, assembled the new hydroelectric generator, and pressure tested our assembly. When issues came up, we had to adapt and make use of our limited resources, as there was limited electricity and we were in a remote area so we couldn't simply drive to a Home Depot when we needed supplies.

PROCESS

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Repairing the intake

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950 feet of 6” PVC pipe

Through this experience, I was able to get hands-on experience with a hydro-electric system and exercise my problem solving skills in an environment with limited resources.

Check out an article written about our trip here. This experience was funded by The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth College. Photos and video courtesy of Kevin Yang.

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