Portland installs electricity turbines in water pipes

AUTHORITIES at the city of Portland in Oregon, United States of America, have figured out how to create hydro-power without building a dam! They are now generating free electricity every time they turn on the tap!

The city recently installed new municipal water pipes equipped with four 42-inch turbines that create electricity from the water passing through them.

Historically, hydropower has been created by damming rivers and installing turbines inside the dams, which can be damaging to fish and the river itself. Tap-water hydropower creates virtually no effect on wildlife, as it is simply harnessing the energy of water that’s already flowing through the pipes.

Southern African countries, including Namibia, which have power generation deficits and depend on imports from overstretched power utilities like Eskom of South Africa, could take a leaf from this initiative to generate free power.

“It’s pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there’s no environmental impact,” says Gregg Semler, CEO of Lucid Energy, the Portland-based start–up that designed the new system.

“But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That’s what’s exciting.”

Another bonus about hydropower is, unlike wind and solar, it’s always working as long as water is flowing.

The turbines can only be installed in places where municipal water pipes flow downhill, as using electricity to pump water through them would defeat the purpose. The four turbines are expected to produce at least US$2 million (N$30 million) worth of free electricity over the next 20 years. More turbines would produce more.

A larger tap-water hydropower system could have a major impact in places like California where 20% of total energy consumption goes toward treating and pumping water to farms, residents and businesses, Fast Company notes.

Lucid Energy already has a pilot programme in place in Riverside, California, where the city’s water utility is using the turbines to offset operating costs during the day and power streetlights at night.

– returntonow.net

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