Ringmo, Nepal

May 2014

This project marked New Energy’s first operational field deployment to a remote community. The system has been running continuously for over 2 years without maintenance intervention until the late summer of 2016. It continues to operate today. Ringmo, Nepal, is a village located high in the Himalayas in the Dolpa region of northern Nepal. There are no roads leading to the village. Access from the nearest motorized transportation to the village is by way of a multi-day hike through the mountains. All materials must be carried in by hand, or on the backs of pack animals. The 5 kW system installed in Ringmo is the first of a new generation of New Energy hydrokinetic power generation equipment, branded EnviroGen, has no gearbox, and uses a purpose- built low speed generator. This system demonstrates power service delivery and community capacity building in a very remote part of Nepal. Major sponsors and partners in the project included Advantage Products Inc. Himalaya Currents, World Wildlife Fund, and US Synthetic.

The installation required the construction of a gabion duct in order to both concentrate the fast-moving river flow and support the turbine. The New Energy turbine is the key building block to power Ringmo’s nascent micro economy. The system powers a community of 40 homes, an army base, and a monastery.