Students from Engineers Without Borders had a chance to apply their skills learned in the classroom during a trip to Dominica over winter break.

Five State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students combined their efforts with students from the University of Vermont and the State College in Dominica, a Caribbean island north of Barbados, to build the island’s first micro-hydro turbine system.

‘(Students were) interested in the idea of using their expertise in various fields of engineering to help people anywhere in the world that needed help,’ said Dave White, a public relations associate for SUNY-ESF.

The students also conducted a series of workshops for government officials and other leaders in the area to introduce and educate them about the system in hopes of convincing them to adopt the energy supplier.

‘We’re proposing a more sustainable energy source,’ said SUNY-ESF professor Allan Drew. ‘(It) has great potential on the island.’

The Dominican community agreed that the turbine has a lot of potential, said Megan Scott, a junior environmental resource engineering major and co-founder of SUNY-ESF’s chapter of EWB.

‘The feeling down there was the same,’ Scott said. ‘The community was really open to it.’

EWB selected the construction as the organization’s first project after hearing about it from Drew.

Drew said the students from Vermont had started the installation of the turbine but ran out of money before the project could be completed. Scott thought this would be a perfect first project for the group.

‘We’re all about renewable energy,’ which is exactly what the turbine would supply, Scott said.

The turbine is like a miniature paddle wheel. A pipeline is built on a stream and then directs the water to the turbine, causing it to spin and generate electricity. By taking advantage of the multitude of streams and rivers throughout Dominica, this energy source would reduce the island’s reliance on expensive diesel fuel imported from an outside supplier, White said.

Students arrived on the island on Dec. 31. to begin work.

Ayana Douglas, a senior forest engineering major and Dominica native, described the work that went into making the project a reality.

‘We had to plan and design the foundation, had to decide how much piping was needed and big it had to be,’ Douglas said. The students were also responsible for planning where they would get the supplies from.

While most of the project was completed by their departure on Jan. 15, finishing touches still need to be put on the electrical system. The Vermont students will return to Dominica over spring break to do this.

Once completed, the electricity created by the turbine system will be used to power the guesthouse on the Springfield Estate, which houses the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center.

Published on February 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm