Building a Case for Hydro-Power Facilities in Agricultural Applications
Colorado's agriculture community is continually seeking new forms of affordable and reliable energy sources and hydro-power has significant potential as a renewablle energy resource in Colorado. A project team led by Michael Drake, from Painted Sky, Blue Earth, Community Hydropower Consulting (CHC), iCAST, and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) will focus on the feasibility study for micro-hydro facilities for renewable energy generation in agricultural applications. Micro-hydro facilities are ideal for agriculture applications isnce they can often provide a consistent supply of renewable energy that can be easily integrated into agricultural loads.
This feasibility study will focus on the economic, technical, marketing, management and financial viability of three Micro-hydro sites in Colorado. The goal of the study is to confirm through due diligence that these micro-hydro facilities are appropriate for agricultural application. Once the locations are deemed viable, the project team will convert the site specific inforamtion into generic case studies so that it can provide educational information to other potential micro-hydro sites. Also, this team has the capability and capacity to help the site owners obtain the necessary permits, funding and expertise to design, construct and commission small hydro projects and thus develop a local renewable energy resource.
