Dominican Republic: new IREM Ecowatt Hydro hydroelectric plant for rural electrification

The micro hydroelectric plant under construction for the community of “El Redondo” is located in the province of Azua in the Dominican Republic.

The project funded by two Dominican NGOs aims to provide electricity to the rural village to improve its quality of life and allow the implementation and development of agricultural activities.

IREM contributed to the project by supplying an Ecowatt Hydro Pelton Turbine model TPS123M360 with 6 jets, with valves for manual regulation of the on / off plunger type flow.

The system is capable of generating an electrical power of 85 kW, and the turbine-generator group is managed by 9 IREM RMP electronic regulators of 10 kW each, which guarantee constant load control of the desired frequency, in this case 60 Hz.

The system is completed by an IREM QDT90 model distribution panel, which manages the three-single-phase distribution to the users, powered at 277/480 Volts.

The peculiarity of this machine is the presence of the gear multiplier which, specifically designed and built by IREM, guarantees the transmission of power and the adaptation of the number of revolutions from the Pelton impeller to the synchronous generator. This technical solution allows the use of Pelton impellers even in extreme hydraulic conditions, starting from a minimum of 30 meters of net head.

Hydraulic alternatives to meet similar hydraulic conditions would lead to the use of much more expensive and complex machinery, whose sustainability and management is impossible in plants dedicated to rural electrification.

The use of an IREM Ecowatt Hydro Hydroelectric Turbine, on the other hand, guarantees all the typical advantages of six-jet vertical axis Pelton turbines: reduced costs, ease of installation and management, maximum performance, extreme reliability and robustness.