I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family, friends and the society.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study has been made possible as a result of the co-operation and support rendered by several individuals. While it is impossible to list down all of them, I am very grateful for their assistance. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Madam Norazlina Binti Bateni for her guidance and advices throughout the Final Year Project. Without her support and interest, this thesis would not have been the same as presented here. Besides that, I wish to thank those who have assisted me either direct or indirectly throughout the entire progress of my Final Year Project. Thank you. Last word, hopefully information produced by this thesis would be valuable in assisting for further research.

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ABSTRACT

Micro hydropower project is one of the significant projects to provide the electricity for the underserved community in Sarawak as most of the rural area community in Sarawak is located in the hilly and mountainous area. This study is mainly focus on producing power electric to the schools located along Sungai Baleh. This is because most of the schools located along Sungai Baleh are not connected to the national grid and depend only on diesel generators for power supply. Objectives of this study consist of: 1) to evaluate kinetic energy produced by Sungai Baleh at Kapit area; 2) to identify potential power can be produced by Sungai Baleh at Kapit area; 3) to identify potential site for in-stream horizontal micro hydro for potential location at Kapit area of Sarawak. Data and information of this study about Sungai Baleh were obtained from previous researcher under JARIMAS project. JARIMAS is a combination of JKRs Applied Research and Innovation (JARI) and Unimas. Actual data obtained using river surveyor equipment are analyzed to determine kinetic energy and potential power generated by micro hydro system. Results show that Sungai Baleh has rapid water current flow in which can produce adequate micro hydro power electric for the schools along Sungai Baleh. In addition, the power produced is able to sustain the electricity demand for the schools along Sungai Baleh. SK Lepong Gaat is chosen as the best station to develop micro hydro system. The best location to install horizontal micro hydro turbine is at track in range of 50 to 54 meter from the river shore. The electrical power which can be produced in this track is 90.18kW.

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ABSTRAK

Kuasa mikro hidro projek merupakan sesuatu projeck yang penting untuk membekalkan elektrik kepada mayarakat pedalaman di Sarawak. Kebanyakan masyarakat pedalaman di Sarawak tinggal di kawasan berbukit-bukau dan bergunung-ganang. Kajian ini menumpu kepada penghasilan kuasa elektrik bagi sekolah-sekolah yang terletak di sepanjang Sungai Baleh. Hal ini demikian kerana kebanyakan sekolah yang terletak di sepanjang Sungai Baleh tidak disambung ke grid kebangsaan dan hanya bergantung kepada generator diesel untuk bekalan juasa. Objektif kajian ini terdiri daripada: 1) untuk menilai tenaga kinetik yang dihasilkan oleh Sungai Baleh di kawasan Kapit; 2) untuk mengenal pasti kuasa yang boleh dihasilkan oleh Sungai Baleh di kawasan Kapit; 3) untuk mengenal pasti tapak yang berpotensi bagi pelaksanaan mikro hidro projek di kawasan Kapit, Sarawak. Data dan maklumat mengenai Sungai Baleh diperolehi daripada pengkaji-pengkaji terdahulu di bawah projeck JARIMAS. JARIMAS merupakan gabungan Penyelidikan Gunaan dan Inovasi JKR (Jari) dan Unimas. Data yang diperolehi dengan menggunakan peralatan juruukur sungai dianalisi untuk menentukan tenaga kinetik dan kuasa yang boleh dijana oleh sistem mikro hidro. Hasil daripada kajian menunjukkan bahawa Sungai Baleh mempunyai aliran air yang deras untuk menghasilkan kuasa mikro hidro elektrik yang mencukupi bagi sekolah-sekolah di sepanjang Sungai Baleh. Di samping itu, kuasa yang dihasilkan dapat menampung permintaan eletrik bagi sekolah-sekolah di sepanjang Sungai Baleh. SK Lepong Gaat dipilih sebagai stesen yang paling sesuai untuk pelaksanaan sistem mikro hidro. Lokasi yang terbaik untuk memasang mikro hidro turbin mendatar terletak di landasan dalam julat 50 hingga 54 meter dari tebing sungai. Kuasa eletrik yang boleh dihasilkan di dalam trek ini adalah 90.18kW.

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