Eureka moment for budding engineers Students piece together indigenous windmill

BY BABURAM KHAREL
KATHMANDU, March 21 - After months of hard work, a group of students have pieced together their dream machine: A three-blade windmill that can generate up to 500 watts of electricity.

With this feat, group members Amrit Singh Thapa, Sulav Paudel, Suraj Rai, Amrit Abhamani Dhakal, Pawan Paudel, Lalit Singh Rawal and Dipti Dewan, on a mission to tap wind energy in the country, are elated.

Tired of running from pillar to post for funds, these students of the Kathmandu Engineering College (KEC) injected Rs. 300,000 for their pet project, while the college provided Rs. 60,000.

“We are probably the first to develop this kind of windmill in the country,” claims team leader Amrit Singh Thapa. “Our machine has light mechanical parts and is one of the most sophisticated and compact windmills.”

In the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley, where wind velocity is low, their machine can generate only about 300 watts round the clock. Equipped with a battery that can store energy, the machine can be a reliable source of power for the college during load-shedding hours.

The students faced some difficulties while developing a turbine that would rotate even when wind velocity is low. They built the turbine using raw materials available in the country. Before setting up the windmill in the capital, the students had tested it at Phakhel of Makwanpur district.

According to statistics, about one-fifth of the total energy consumption in the country is derived from alternative sources. In its three-year interim plan, the government aims to meet energy requirements for additional five percent of the country's population by tapping alternative energy sources, including wind energy.

The budding engineers feel that the state must tap alternative sources of power, including wind energy, to tackle the power crisis. Hope the state is listening.