Delaware DAO

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

This proposal outlines the history of the Delaware Canal as well as how Delaware DAO plans to provide an alternative source of revenue to improve and maintain the Delaware Canal State Park in Pennsylvania, US. I have come up with the solution to provide revenue to the canal through the installation of hydropower turbines at each lock, each producing about 15-70kWh depending on the flow and head of the water where the measurements are taken. We will then be able to sell that energy back to our local energy providers and generate a source of revenue through net metering.

To fund this project we will be creating a governance NFT that is unique, has different rarities and is attractive to collectors. We will charge and produce as many as needed to raise enough capital to afford the installation of the turbines. Token holders will be granted voting rights and have a say in what project excess revenue should go towards to repair/improve the overall function of the canal and it's water flow.

History

The Delaware Canal State Park is part of the over 1,200 miles of canal systems within Pennsylvania that was originally built in mid 19th century to connect Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Lake Erie. This point in that system runs from Easton, where it connects to the Lehigh Canal, down to Bristol. The main purpose that the canal served was to haul coal from the Lehigh Valley using mule barges to transport from the northeastern Pennsylvania coal regions to the cities on the eastern seaboard.

"These new transportation routes would carry the raw materials and manufactured products that would power this country’s industrial revolution.

As railroads began to seriously compete for freight contracts, canal-generated revenues to the Commonwealth dropped. In 1858, the decision was made to sell the Delaware Canal to private operators. From 1866 to 1931, the Delaware Canal was run by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, which also owned of the Lehigh Canal.

Canal traffic and revenue declined until the “iron horse” finally beat the mule, when the last paying boat locked through in October 17, 1931. The same day, 40 miles of the Delaware Canal was deeded to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was named Roosevelt State Park by Governor Gifford Pinchot, to commemorate his fellow preservationist, Theodore Roosevelt.

It was not until 1940 that the Commonwealth finally acquired all 60 miles of the canal. By popular demand, the park was renamed Delaware Canal State Park in 1989. The significance of the Delaware Canal was recognized in 1978, when it was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is preserved today as the last towpath canal in America capable of being fully-watered and restored."

https://www.fodc.org/about-the-canal/

The Problem

As you can see the canal plays a very important role in American history. It is great that the canal served as a huge contributor the the industrial revolution that impacted the entire world with the new technology that was created. It is also a shame of what has become of the canal over the years and how it is not being used to its full potential. The main issue is that right now it is a huge money pit that relies on donations and government funding to allow the water to consistently flow through the entire system. If you look over to New Jersey, which has a very similar canal, (built around the same time and also 60 miles long) they create revenue by selling over 95M gallons of drinking water daily. You'll almost always see constant, flowing water with a much better towpath for more foot traffic in NJ.

Back over to PA, if you are visiting the area you'll notice that currently a large portion of the canal is without water. This is due to the damages sustained from hurricane Ida in 2021. This is not the first occurrence of the canal not being at it's optimal state due to natural disasters. Over my years of living on the canal I can only remember a handful of times when there was water flowing through my backyard. If we are able to create a source of revenue, we will be able to not only make sure there is water flowing, but restore the locks and improve the towpaths along the 60 miles journey.

Pictures(https://www.delawarecanal21.org/)

Point Pleasant, PA. 6/19/22

The Solution

We've decided to explore partnerships with multiple organizations involved with the Delaware Canal as well as Turbulent to collaborate in order to be able to provide a source of revenue for the Delaware Canal State Park. Potentially we will be able to install a turbine, provided by Turbulent, in each of the 24 locks on the canal. The cost of each turbine installation can be anywhere from $50,000-$75,000 for the turbine itself as well as the civil works involved so the expectations is that the entire project will cost upwards of $2M.

The turbines themselves will generate anywhere from 15-70kWh depending on the flow and head measurements where each turbine is installed.

These turbines are unique in many ways considering there is no damming of the water source. Damming the water can have many environmental consequences and is not ideal in conserving the life of the organisms that live in the ecosystem. That's why Turbulent has created their turbines that produce power without harming any wildlife by not having to dam the water source. These turbines also involve a "sluice gate" for water control as well as a "trash rack" that blocks larger wildlife or any other large debris from entering the vortex while also allowing smaller debris and wildlife to safely pass.

In order to guide the water from the canal into the turbine's vortex chamber we will need to install a bypass canal on the side of each lock. The bypass canal will be able to carry water to the end of the lock to where it can enter the vortex and then drop down to continue along the main canal. This installation would not interfere with any of the locks and will be covered by a wire mesh to ensure safety.

Here is a short video the shows how these turbines can be installed as well as how they operate.

The DAO Aspect

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

I believe that what my company strives to accomplish is fully inline with what Fund9 and this challenge wants to contribute to the Cardano ecosystem. We will be able to install a renewable energy source to impact my local community as well as bring real life use cases to the blockchain and NFTs.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

-Legal framework of company

-Non successful mint of tokenized assets

-Not enough traction/hype around project

-Not enough funding needed

-Doesn't sell out

-Not securing needed water rights/building permits needed to install turbines

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Currently I am gathering information and taking measurements that I can give to the turbine providers. Once I have gathered that information they will get back to me within a month and discuss where the project can go from there.

During that time I will be speaking with the local municipalities that the canal runs through to discuss permits that I would need to acquire. As well as forming other partnerships.

Once we receive funding we will be able to reach out to an artist/animation studio to commission them to make our NFT set.

Once we have successfully gotten an artist on board to provide a quality product that would ensure a dedicated community we will then start creating that community and hype around the project through twitter and discord.

Hopefully we will sell out on mint day whenever that would be to afford the installation of the turbines.

Assuming we were successful in that regard we will then move to the next step in the process which would be installing the turbines into the canal.

After that it should become its own living and breathing DAO that token holders can propose and vote on new ideas and projects to fund that would improve the community with the revenue generated.

I plan on then making sure the DAO has proper representation and hiring our own engineers to scout new locations to install more hydropower technology. We would like to work with local conservation and environmental experts to educate the DAO members on each new project to fund.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

15,000- artist/animation

• $500 daily rate

5,000- project manager

8,000-discord dev/website

• developer rate is €80 excl. vat/hour, and 60 for advisory/management work

5,000-marketing

25,000-capital/feasibility studies/permitting/lawyer/accountant/stakepool

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Odin Vegas- Project Manager

-Forming partnerships

-Creating a community

-Managing all business aspects of company

1+ years in cardano community and early cnft investor

(Discord) Dev, Anon.

• Discord bot development
• Extensive Discord setups, keeping security in mind (6 years of experience on Discord)
• NFT image generation
• Backend programming
• Some frontend (website) work
• Advisory role (regarding CNFTs, discord, startups, HR..)
• Developing strategy / creative plan

Turbulent- Turbine provider and partner

-Engineers

-improving communities by decentralizing power

Clarity Protocol- DAO tooling partner

-Allowing treasury funds to be managed in a decentralized manner

Local Non-profits

-partner

-Educating DAO members

-Proposing ideas for what aspects of the canal need funding/improvement

-Voice of residents living on the canal

Artist/animator

-Creation of NFTs

-Animation

-Branding

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Hopefully we are successful in generating plenty of revenue to not need funding after that.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Prior to mint we will keep our community informed through twitter and discord on the steps we are taking to get this thing up and running. Legal framework, token art, partnerships.

Our treasury wallet will be available for anyone to monitor to be entirely transparent on where the funding goes.

We will be able to monitor how much power each generator is producing through Turbulent's software. We will keep the DAO updated on the status of each turbine.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

-Selling out on mint date

-Successful installation on hydropower turbines at each lock capable of housing one

-Revenue stream generated from the turbines producing power

-Community dedicated to improving the canal while voting on where excess funds should go

-Inspiring other renewable energy DAOs to decentralize power as well as governance within a company

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

Completely new!