WHILE there is still no complete solution for the electrification of villages off-grid, Adrian Lasimbang has brought power supply to more than 5,000 villagers in the past decade through his micro-hydro programme.

To date, Lasimbang and his crew from Tonibung (friends of village development), from Penampang, Sabah, have installed 29 of his home-fabricated turbines across the country.

Eighteen are in Sabah, nine in Sarawak and two in the peninsula.

His micro-hydro programme is a success because the community receiving the turbine is also invested in its installation and maintenance. 

Lasimbang said the installation process could take up to two years, but was generally accomplished in a much shorter time if everything went as planned.

“The first part involves a lot of leg work, going around the village to find out what sort of electrical appliances folks have at home.

“The kinetic forces at the nearby river are also measured. Once we have all the numbers, we have an idea of how big a turbine to build.”

It costs about RM25,000 per kilowatt to build and transport the turbine, and train the operators.

Lasimbang, who is a senator, said after completing the first step, the team would return to the workshop in Penampang to build the micro-hydro turbine, but not before they tell the village getting the turbine to set up a revolving fund for its care and maintenence.

 “The villagers must set up a revolving fund to keep the turbine running without a hitch after we are long gone.

“We believe that nothing should be given for free, and that those who want this must chip in to make it a success,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The money will be used to pay the turbine operator’s monthly salary and buy parts, as well as serve as an emergency fund for the village.

At the workshop, Lasimbang said, the casting gets under way, which would determine the size of the wheels.

“Usually, the bigger the wheel, the more kinetic energy from the force of the river, the more electricity it will produce. But this will be determined based on data we have from our earlier audit.

“We have a smelter here, and we collect aluminium cans to melt them down to produce the wheel’s fins.”

The third process is to train the operator. Young people in the community are selected to learn how to work the micro-hydro turbine.

“They will be taught how to open up the turbine to fix or replace broken parts. The operators will look after the turbines post-installation,” said Lasimbang.

Training will take a couple of months, he said.

When all the components are completed, the turbine will be assembled and tested at the workshop, which is equipped with a switchboard and an electrical ballast for the purpose.

“We want to make sure the unit is perfect, that there are no leaks, before it is disassembled for delivery.”

Lasimbang said the day it arrives is a “big day” for the village, whose residents stand by to take delivery of the unit.

At this point, he said, they would already be prepared for the responsibility of maintaining it, having established a fund to pay the technicians to operate and look after it.

“The shelf life of a built unit is up to 20 years, but is sometimes shorter because the villagers buy more appliances now that they have power, which adds to the consumption.”– October 28, 2018.