are "East Coast Companies" scouring the countryside in search of workable water wheels, but much of the hydro under development is not underwritten by large corporations. Often small partnerships and families operate dams. Most of these projects did not start with huge outlays of cash. They are not managed by "unscrupulous profit mongers in glass-walled office complexes." They are "just folk" who have either homesteaded the site, purchased it on a mortgage, or leased it from its owner (in some cases the state or federal government). The motive is often less one of greed than of security and independence. The ethic is pure Protestant work. Instead of huge expenditures for new equipment and hired help, the site is worked by the owners themselves with mostly reconditioned parts and a lot of study and research. Interested? Well, first of all, this is no place for novices. Used equipment is often the wrong equipment and even the distributors may not know the details of site specificity. Do your homework (see accompanying access), get all the free help you can, and still be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. Women and minorities have an advantage here (at least until the budget cutting takes effect). Special federal programs have been designed to draw us into businesses, especially the energy industries. (Contact the Small Business Administration, 1441 L St., Washington, DC 20416). McPhee describes one family's concern that lists the women in that family as all of its officers. Make use of whatever incentives you can. (Call your region or state energy office for details). Some of these only aid the big investor seeking tax shelters but a few can be taken as direct credits and don't require overly complicated tax reporting. Remember the economics of cost versus returns when determining the scale of your project. Micro-hydro is probably not going to make you rich overnight, but it won't leave you poor either. Homesteaders are finding that a micro-hydro installation can provide them with all the electricity they need, plus a nice little income when they run the meter backward, selling their surplus to the power company. I've become aware of instances where several families develop a small stream's potential together and spread the electricity among them. This is especially practical where the cost of utility hookups would be exorbitant and the cost of storing excess electricity equally so. Often the small towns surrounding abandoned dams reflect the disuse of the dam itself. Community investment, in rescuing the facility, can spark and support revitalization of other parts of the town as well. Even larger cities can benefit. Portland is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine the hydro-generating capacity of its Bull Run facility. Locally controlled hydro-electric power combined with conservation offers the possibility of stabilizing utility costs. Communities can become electricity producers May 1981 RAIN Page 11 • 1 - l ---- - .., ·- -- - ---1- ··---,--···- - ,--- - \ - - -- - -T- • ·_} :.:_c,1- ·:- ·, ~-=-1·~~--l·J :-J r__ ·T~;-2- - i ·- . t \ I ----·r- -- • i ---· ·-, --·-----~ ----·· {=~~:-~~~r1±\:~~ . 1 ,-- -~; : • ' ·, ' : • : : : ' ' ' :;.; : ,-?.:..: From Micro-Hydro Dev. in Idaho rather than just consumers, effectively disconnecting themselves from utility dependency. This amended scenario lends itself less to the kind of claim-jumping shenanigans already manif~st in the move to hydro-monopolizing. Neighbor-to-neighbor transactions can rely on mutual respect and fairness rather than condemnation court proceedings. People like Clif and Roger can strike a bargain for barter, eliminating escalating water rights purchase costs. The result is a more stable and economical resource for everyone. The hydro-electric generating capabilities within the state of New Hampshire alone can replace three nuclear power plants. The Pacific Northwest and the Tennessee Valley have long histories of reliance on hydropower (see "Northwest Power Play I and II," RAIN Vol. VII, Nos. 4 and 5) only recently shadowed by the nuclear industry. But our goal must be more than just trying to get hydro back on line. We need to refine and disseminate the technology to be better able to exploit the energy potential while sustaining the ecologies of our rivers and streams. We need to create more incentives for micro-installations, while limiting subsidies which facilitate corporate takeover of the industry. We need to establish priorities that demonstrate our commitment to the long range rewards of locally controlled and responsive technologies rather than the instant gratification of a technology of greed. No small agenda for the Reagan years. We have, as it were, our work cut out for us. OD ACCESS: MICRO-HYDRO A Guide to Micro-Hydro Development in Alaska (also: Oregon, Washington, and Idaho), 1980, from: each state's Energy Office, or: Region 10, Dept. of Energy 1992 Federal Bldg. 915 Second Ave. Seattle, WA 98174 These books contain the full text of the NCAT hydro publication (listed here), plus all of the water rights and energy regulations of the respective states. They also include a section on federal assistance programs. Each has art·expanded bibliography covering periodicals, articles, and pamphlets as well as books. Rumor has it that the Bonneville Power Administration is combining all of these into a larger Guide to Micro-Hydro in the Pacific Northwest, which sounds like a good idea, but isn't available yet. We'll keep you posted. -Gail Katz Micro-Hydro Power: Reviewing an Old Concept, by Ron Alward, Sherry Eisenbart and John Volkman, 1979, 60 pp., $5.25 from: National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 I used to live in the vicinity of the Trinity Alps near a stream that came down off a ridge, and I always wondered about generating my own electricity there. Three members of the NCAT Technical Research Staff have written this good, concise introduction to small-scale hydropower which will set you on the road toward doing it rather than just wondering. The most valuable section of the book shows how to determine just how much energy you have in your stream and how much of that energy you can plug into. It also includes an introduction to equipment, a list of manufacturers, a section on economics, another on government regulations, and an excellent bibliography. So contact your local government, find out what permits you'll need and get to know your stream. -Gail Katz
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