What are municipal water stations for? In addition to supplying water, they can also produce electricity, as evidenced by a pilot plant used in the Portland city water system. The effect of his work turns out to be surprisingly good.
The solution, called LucidPipe, proposed by Lucid Energy, is to insert special spherical turbines into the main water supply. They were designed to minimize the flow of water. At the same time, a team of four such turbines is capable of continuously supplying energy used in 100 houses.
It is important to note that this is clean energy and, with the exception of the cost of assembling and maintaining turbines, is completely free of charge created on the occasion of local hydraulic structures. At the same time, it does not have energy defects from classical hydroelectric power plants – it does not require the accumulation of water and any negative consequences as a result of the construction of an artificial reservoir.
Due to this, residents will not feel any negative effects of turbine installations. They will appreciate the positive results: four turbines installed on a pipe with a diameter of 107 cm should produce 1,100 MWh per year, which should be enough to supply 150 houses and bring about $ 1 million per year.
It is worth recalling that the project was a promising idea many years ago, and today is a proven solution that saves about $ 2 million.
Free electricity is not for everyone
The energy production system used in Orlando, unfortunately, is not without flaws. The key issue in his case is the shape of the urban area and the possibility of using turbines without significantly reducing the speed of the running water.
When the terrain allows the use of waterworks, in which the flow of water is caused by gravity, and the fall is so great that the turbines do not interfere with the process of self-purification, the solution proposed by Orlando is a way to cheap and clean energy. However, it should be remembered that not every city has – in this respect – such a favorable location.
Energy from water and sewage
This does not change the fact that the use of water mains for the production of electricity is an interesting innovation idea. It should be noted that the source of clean energy can be not only clean water, but also waste water. An example is even the English company Thames Water, which uses grease and organic waste from wastewater to produce fuel for a power plant.
Electricity from rainwater
It is worth emphasizing that LucidPipe is not the only idea for a hydroelectric power plant in an unusual place. A year ago, three students from the National Polytechnic University of Mexico presented their invention called Pluvia. The innovation of this solution is based on the use of a small turbine operating in the … chute. Pluvia uses rainwater to produce electricity and at the same time purifies it, making it suitable for drinking.
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