Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA-In the midst of the 'storm' of the energy crisis that threatens various parts of Europe, Eco Campus, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) Surabaya State University (UNESA) gave birth to renewable energy innovations. They designed “Mikrohidro”, a power plant using hydro and solar power (hybrid).
The tool is the work of the Eco Campus student team, FMIPA. The team leader, Natasyah Valencia Nilafah Gea, said that the tool they made combines micro hydro power that utilizes water discharge with solar power.
The idea started when they were involved in a climate campus program in Jambangan, Surabaya. “If we think about it, the energy crisis is a common threat. So, we at Eco Campus tried to find a strategy on how to generate electrical energy from the resources around us. We looked for ideas and experiments and this device was born,” he explained.
Equipped with Flood Detector
Microhydro, Natasyah continued, is not only environmentally friendly but also economical because the cost of making this tool is relatively cheap and does not require fuel. Not only that, this tool is also equipped with features such as a display of the amount of power generated and has a sensor to detect flooding because its use depends on river flow.
According to him, the use of micro-hydro technology is considered quite effective, especially for areas that have rivers with a fairly fast flow. “If for example the water discharge is less and the flow is weak, we can use solar power or sunlight,” he explained.
The working system of this tool is that the water flow rotates the generator, then produces electrical energy which will enter the controller which is connected to the battery. The controller then feeds electricity to the battery with a stable voltage to provide power to the inverter and create electrical energy.
“For now, we are still making it on a small scale so we still use the output for low-power electrical appliances such as lamps,” he explained.
Dra. Winarsih, M.Kes., as the Eco Campus supervisor lecturer also said that in the future this tool will be developed larger to create environmentally friendly technology which of course can also be applied in the UNESA environment and even the wider community.
Not only micro hydro, Eco Campus also presents other innovations in line with the climate village program (PROKLIM) and was also exhibited at the Jatim Environment Exhibition 2022 at the Jatim International Expo (JIE) Convention Exhibition, Surabaya in mid-September.
“Our principle is how this innovation leads to new renewable energy. Besides being more environmentally friendly, it also anticipates the occurrence of an energy crisis like the one that hit a number of European countries now,” he concluded. [UNESA PR]
Author: Mohammad Dian Purnama
Photo: Documentation of PPK Ormawa Eco Campus Team FMIPA
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