An Assessment of Hydropower Potential for Electrical Energy Harvesting in Water Distribution Network in Buea-Cameroon

Significant amount of energy is consumed in water supply systems resulting in reduced sustainability of these systems. Measures to reduce their energy demand are strongly needed. In this study, an estimation of the intrinsic hydro energy potential of the water supply system of a Cameroon municipality was made in order to propose an energy-potential map useful to identify the most interesting sites where excess energy in the network can be harvested to improve the energy efficiency of the network. A geodatabase to store network data was developed using Geographic Information Systems. The shapefiles resource data were explored and the hydraulic simulator EPANET software was used to create a model. Calculations were performed to determine the energy recovery values at different locations in the network. The resulting digital map presented 18 candidate sites which show a total annual energy potential of 635 MWh, realizable at capacity factor and efficiency of 41 % and 65 % respectively. This potential can offset the energy footprint of the network by about 34 % while 127 tons of carbon-dioxide emission reductions are achieved. The results of this investigation highlight that development of renewable energy resource on water supply network infrastructure is an innovative technology that can contribute significantly to improve the energy efficiency, economic and environmental sustainability of the water supply system.