IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2015 - 78

that strengthen local economic networks through rural
electrification will further encourage local participation and
ensure the economic viability of such projects.

For Further reading

Figure 22. The OSH pico hydroelectric system developed at the
NTUA. (Source: rurerg.net.)

weight and volume than their neodymium counterparts
because of their weaker magnetic field, but they have a
lower and stable cost and are not prone to corrosion.
Another aspect of the adaptability of the OSH design is
the ability to use parts of the design in other OSH applications. This is the case of the OSH pico-hydroelectric system
developed in NTUA, which is a hybrid design between the
locally manufactured axial flux permanent magnet
generator described by Piggott in the design manual Small
Wind Turbine Recipe Book and the locally manufactured
small hydrocasing and turgo runner designs of Joseph Hartvigsen. The specific design is a grid-connected 350-W
hydroelectric system that has been driven with a pump in
the labs of NTUA (Figure 22) with satisfactory results. A
battery-charging prototype of the same design has been in
operation for one year in a rural installation in Greece.

conclusion
Locally manufactured small wind turbines, and OSH
technologies in general, provide a very promising technological approach that can support sustainable rural
electrification schemes in remote parts of the world.
Open-source technologies are developed by communities
of designers and users, with the distinction between the
two often being nonexistent. Through such design
approaches, highly flexible, reliable, and scalable technologies are developed that provide low-cost products that are
easy to maintain and repair and are well adapted to the
social and environmental systems in which they operate.
Looking into the future of locally manufactured small
wind turbines, the creation of local training and manufacturing centers close to the areas where the technology will
be implemented is the next step, with some organizations
already working toward the materialization of this vision.
Such centers of information sharing will enable local and
international practitioners to meet in person and better
adapt already existing designs to the electrification needs
of remote communities in the area. At the same time, the
development of appropriate business models and practices

78

I E E E E l e c t r i f i c ati o n M agaz ine / March 2015

Practical Action. (2015, 7 Jan.). Where we work-Nepal.
[Online]. Available: http://practicalaction.org/wherewework_
nepal
Mali Folkecenter. (2015, 7 Jan.). Mission statement. [Online].
Available: http://www.malifolkecenter.org/
I Love Windpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Projects. [Online]. Available: http://i-love-windpower.com/projects/mali/
H. Piggott. (2015, 7 Jan.). News. [Online]. Available: http://
scoraigwind.co.uk/
Solarmad. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
solarmad-nrj.com
Green Step. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
green-step.org
Wind Aid. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
windaid.org
Clean Energy Initiative. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.tcei.info
ÉolSénégal. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
eolsenegal.sn
Comet-me. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
comet-me.org
I Love Windpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
www.i-love-windpower.com
V3. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.v3power.
co.uk
Otherpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
otherpower.com
Tripalium. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
tripalium.org
Nea Guinea. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
neaguinea.org
ESCANDA. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
escanda.org
Wind Empowerment. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://windempowerment.org/
Poikkis. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://
poikkis.net
Kleinwindanlagen.de. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://kleinwindanlagen.de,
Petit Eolien. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://
fr.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/petit-eolien/info
RURERG. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://
rurerg.net/
Smart RUE. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://
www.smartrue.gr/
H. Piggott, How to Build a Wind Turbine: The Axial Flux Windmill Plans. Scoraig: Hugh Piggott, June 2005.
D. C. Meeker. (2015, 7 Jan.). Finite Element Method Magnetics, Version 4.0.1 (03Dec2006 Build). [Online]. Available: http://
ww.femm.info
Hartvigsen Hydro. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
http://www.h-hydro.com

biographies
Kostas C. Latoufis (latoufis@power.ece.ntua.gr) is with the
National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
Thomas V. Pazios (tompaz@mail.ntua.gr) is with the
National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
Nikos D. Hatziargyriou (nhatziar@mail.ntua.gr) is with
the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

http://www.practicalaction.org/wherewework_ http://www.malifolkecenter.org/ http://www.i-love-windpower.com/projects/mali/ http://http:// http://scoraigwind.co.uk/ http://www.solarmad-nrj.com http://www.green-step.org http://www.rurerg.net http://www.windaid.org http://www.tcei.info http://www.eolsenegal.sn http://www.comet-me.org http://www.i-love-windpower.com http://www.v3power http://www.co.uk http://www.otherpower.com http://www.tripalium.org http://www.neaguinea.org http://www.escanda.org http://www.windempowerment.org/ http://http:// http://www.poikkis.net http://www.Kleinwindanlagen.de http://www.kleinwindanlagen.de http://http:// http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/petit-eolien/info http://http:// http://www.rurerg.net/ http://http:// http://www.smartrue.gr/ http://http:// http://ww.femm.info http://www.h-hydro.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2015