One drop · from glacier to grid
Snow on the Khumbu packs into glacier. Every year, meltwater from 3,200 Nepali glaciers feeds the rivers.
Tributaries join and the river drops about 40 metres every kilometre. That fall is energy waiting to be used.
A weir diverts part of the flow into a tunnel. The rest keeps flowing for fish, farms and festivals.
Seven kilometres of tunnel, then a steel penstock and a 250-metre plunge to the turbines.
Scroll faster and the turbine spins faster. A real Francis runner turns at 500 rpm, with each drop pushing a blade on its way through.
each square = 1,000 households · 1 plant, 180 MW