TONIBUNG successfully installed 5th Micro Hydro Turbine for 2014

Team Tonibung have reached new milestone after successfully installed 5th Micro hydro turbine for 2014, two more turbines compared to 3 units in 2013. This new milestone was part of the current effort by Tonibng to up-scale its Micro Hydro works in Malaysia through support from Lundin Foundation which has enable Tonibung to invest more on Human resources, Tools and training for our team members.  The following are some of the pictures taken during installation of the 5th Micro Hydro system, a 18kw Capacity Crossflow Turbine at Pa' Ramapuh, Bario, Sarawak

 Transporting Heavy loads of equipment to the Power house site

Assembling on site the electro mechanical equipment

Preparing the turbine and generator foundations

mixing concrete. the correct mixture and consistency of the concrete mix is important

getting ready for the concrete pour

pouring the concrete to the foundation with the turbine pre-align and levelled

Halfway during the concrete pour, the Generator is aligned and leveled

finishing the concrete works for the coundations

The turbine and Generator 

Turbine Fabrication at CREATE Borneo up and running

2014 marks a new chapter for Tonibung as we have developed our full capacity to fabricate and assemble micro hydro turbines locally at our Centre for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technologies (CREATE) in Penampang, Sabah.

we were joined by new team of local technicians that have the skills to machine and fabricate parts of the micro hydro turbines. This is also made possible through Grant support from the National Geographic Society through the Great Energy Challenge program.

The turbine design are from over 15 years of experience in developing community based micro hydro in Malaysia. Also the years of partnership with Green Empowerment that have built the capacity of Tonibung to its current level. 

Tonibung also invested extensively on machinery and manpower to enable the Fabrication of Micro Hydro turbines. So far Tonibung is focussing of Pelton and Turgo turbine designs, but start venturing other types such as Crossflow and Kaplan turbine to have better range of selection for turbine to meet the needs of the sites that we are developing community based Micro hydro Projects.

From Sketches to actual turbine prototypes, Tonibung team of technicians assisted by our international interns continues to refine the designs and fabrication techniques.  

Training of local technicians have been Tonibung's main targets for 2014, up to date Tonibung have trained over 15 community micro hydro operators and 8 technicians capable of conducting feasibility studies, construction and installation of micro hydro system in remote areas. we hope 2015 will bring more development and continued support for our work.

Long Lamai Micro Hydro System Comes Online!

After a lot of hard work by TONIBUNG and the villagers, the micro hydro system at Long Lamai, Sarawak, is now online!

It provides 24-hour-a-day renewable energy to 400 villagers.

Below are some pictures of the final stages of installation.

Micro Hydro Feasibility Studies in Ulu Papar, Sabah

TONIBUNG, Green Empowerment and Engineers Without Borders travelled on an expedition into the Ulu Papar region in Western Sabah to collect data from various tributaries to the Papar river.  Data was collected for use in feasibility studies for micro hydro projects in three isolated, roadless villages, which are off-grid and do not currently have access to electricity, except intermittently from generators. Initial community consultation and discussion about the hydro projects was held with each community.

Hike to Longkogungan

The expedition party departed Donggongong travelling towards to the Ulu Papar region and stopped at an inconspicuous sign board which signaled the start of the path to Kampung Longkogungan.  The kampung lay 8.2km away over a steep descent mostly through Sabah Park dipterocarp forest. Up to eight hours had been scheduled for this hike, but luckily it was completed in less than half that time.  The party passed a simple pipe intake for gravity-fed irrigation of a series of paddy terraces (working well).  

 
Papar

The village is picturesque and well-kept, located near to the headwaters of the river Papar. Setting up in the community hall, the party met village women who prepared supper.  The village men also arrived, and a consultation and discussion session was held with the community.  This covered:

•          Micro hydro technology basics
•          Sites for MHP
•          Operation
•          Management of construction project – materials, resources etc.
•          Running and management of MHP – village committee
•          Tariffs
•          Training

Consultation session

Concerns include the fact that the village households are spread out over a wide area. On the plus side, two of the villagers had already acquired pico hydro turbines (c. 100W) and were keen to install hydro systems.

River survey

Surveys and Kalangaan

The party took pressure and flow measurements at a river in Longkogungan, before travelling to a household on the extreme boundary of the village for lunch. The hospitable householder already had a small unused turbine and a steep river adjacent to the building.  The party used the salt-conductivity method to determine the flow available in this river.

Leaving Longkogungan in the afternoon, the party hiked to Kampung Kalangaan. Again discussions were held with the villagers covering similar ground as in Longkogungan. Villagers again seemed keen to get their own renewable energy project off the ground and to participate in training.

Kalangaan to Pongobonon

Measurements were taken in the morning in a rocky stream with a strong flow.  Several villagers helped with the survey and were already familiar with the some of the survey equipment.  Hiking to a separate property in Kalangaan, the party completed a further survey in a less accessible stream with the help of a villager here.

The party then departed Kalangaan for Pongobonon on a two-hour hike mostly following the swelling Papar, arriving at Kampung Pongobonon in time for a swim in the Papar before a consultation session was held with all the Pongobonon villagers in the local school/ church.

Final Surveys

The party completed surveys of two tributaries in Pongobonon. Again the village youngsters helped with surveys. The expedition took a shortcut to Jalan Raya, the road leading to Buayan.  This involved a hike along the steep banks of the Papar and across it several times.  Several kilometres along this road the party arrived at Buayan and then Tiku for the night.

Wading across the Papar

Inspection

Following the expedition the party undertook an inspection of the site at Tiku, where a new micro hydro system is currently being installed. The existing micro hydro system at Buayan was also inspected.

All in all the trip was successful and completed in record-time.  The Engineers Without Borders, who are new to Sabah, acquired a taste for tapai (rice wine) and an appreciation for the fantastic people and natural environment of Ulu Papar.

TONIBUNG at the Heart of Borneo Conference

On 11th and 12th November TONIBUNG exhibited renewable energy (RE) technology at the International Conference on Heart of Borneo’s National Capital (Unleashing Their Potential for Sustainable Growth in Sabah), at the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu.  Along with Green Empowerment, TONIBUNG addressed the conference on small-scale renewable energy and TONIBUNG's work in Sabah and Sarawak.

The conference was hosted by Sabah Forestry Department and supported by various organisations.  Speakers included international academics, representatives from Sabah Parks, Indonesian initiatives and local NGO workers and businessmen alike.

TONIBUNG and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) volunteers spent Sunday afternoon setting up the renewable energy exhibition, involving some last minute wiring for the hydro/solar hybrid unit, and assembling the wind turbine and solar hybrid stand. Posters explaining the technology and displaying photos of past projects were erected, together with a poster which introduced TONIBUNG's new training centre (Centre for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology - CREATE).

      

Fitting the wind/ solar hybrid unit; Sabah CM and Forestry Department Director receive a briefing

After an early arrival on Monday morning by TONIBUNG to beat the KK rush-hour traffic and to make final adjustments, the Sabah state chief minister arrived to open the conference.  There were an estimated 800 people in attendance. Following the welcome address, speeches and singing, the chief minister toured the exhibition hall. The RE exhibit may not have had the slick posters of the rest of the exhibition, but it was the most popular exhibit at the conference.

TONIBUNG representatives spoke to the conference on the projects that they had undertaken and how the successes of small-scale renewable energy could be extended.  A Sabah Electricity (SESB) representative sat on the same panel.  His speech was focussed on Sabah’s main sources of energy and the plan for more large-scale hydro.

In the exhibition hall, TONIBUNG and EWB representatives explained the hydro, solar and wind systems to conference delegates. The strongest interest was from other people operating in Sabah and Sarawak.  Some were interested in employing TONIBUNG’s expertise for their CSR projects, while forestry department representatives saw the potential of solar as a clean alternative for a temporary power source at forest camps.  There was interest in the new training programmes being run at CREATE. 

Many delegates were interested to learn about the technology from an impartial standpoint, or because they were considering some form of renewable energy for their homes.  Of course, cost was a recurring question.

By the end of the day, the TONIBUNG RE exhibit had all but run out of literature and business cards.

TONIBUNG Takes on the Long Semadoh Micro-Hydro Project

Long Semadoh is a village in the far Eastern portion of Sarawak.  Although this area has been slated for the Heart of Borneo conservation initiative, the villagers in the region have a long history of conflict with timber companies and, more recently, with the Petronas trans-Borneo gas pipeline project, which is encroaching on ancestral land. 

TONIBUNG will manage the project alongside Sarawakian partner organization IPIMAS.

Micro-hydro Feasibility Studies in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia

TONIBUNG and Green Empowerment traveled to Perak State in Northern Peninsular Malaysia to check out the potential of several streams in the region for micro-hydro project development.  The villagers of Lubuk Gaharu and Pos Musu in this portion of Perak still lack many basic amenities, including electricity.  There are 77 households total between the two villages.