This free and open source turbine can be built for half the cost of a 120 watt solar panel, and will produce about ten times the power (5kWh with 3m drop and 35 l/s flow) per day. It can be plugged into any appropriate waterway without the need for earthworks, and uses only basic off the shelf and recycled materials, and simple hand tools.
source/image(PrtSc): OpenSourceLowTech
This is a siphon action pico water turbine which uses water momentum to drive an alternator/generator for producing electricity, or air and water pumps for cooling, irrigation and similar.
The turbine is made entirely from easily sourced off the shelf materials, and should cost about $30-$50 for the unit itself, plus however much pipe you need to attach to take full advantage off your watercourse.
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The turbine can be fabricated by one person in 1-2 days with basic hand tools (mostly just a drill) and should produce 200 watts at about 60VDC(rectified) x 3.3A with a 3 meter drop and 30-40 litres per second flow. This will of course vary according to local site specifics, material dimensions, and overall setup.
