The power of water has been harnessd for millenia, it is the bedrock of renewable energy and not always given the credit we feel it's due.
Hydroelectric systems are location specific, it won't be right for every site but we are convinced there is a strong place for hydroelectricity in the renewable mix. Given the right location hydroelectric power is a low maintenance, highly efficient source of renewable energy.
What are the basics? Knowing you have a site that has potential is the first consideration. You need a flow of water and a head of water to give you the latent power needed. We will come back to this in more detail later in article.
Background
For thousands of years, water has been harnessed to perform work for us. Water wheels being used for grinding wheat into flour, to saw wood and to power textile mills and manufacturing plants. More recently, since the second half of the 19th century, we have used water to create hydroelectric power.
Currently in the UK we produce approx. 2 GW of traditional hydropower, which contributes around 2% of our generated energy. The Governments 10 point Energy Plan doesn't mention hydroelectric power, so we don't expect it to be a focus for significant Government investment. However, we believe there is a good opportunity for many private and business sites to benefit from 24/7 hydroelectricity.
What is it?
Hydroelectric schemes can be bundled into 3 main categories:
Impoundment: where a dam is built accross a river impounding a head of water behind it in a reservoir, which can then be released through a turbine to generate electricity.
Diversion: sometimes called 'run of river', which required a portion of the river water to be chanelled through a canal. This may not require use of a dam and hence has a lower envirionmental impact.
Pumped Storage: When demand for electrcity is low, a pumped storage facility stores energy by pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir. During periods of electrical high demand, the water is released back through the turbine to the lower reservoir to generate electricity.
When is Hydroelectricity worth considering?
To see if a hydroelectric system is right for your site, we need to look at the vertical distance (head) available and the flow (quantity) of the water.
Head: assessment of the vertical distance that the water falls.
Flow: accessibility and access to a sufficient quantity of falling water, we ideally look for this to be constant.
In most cases, hydroelectric power generation is associated with rivers, or tidal estuaries, but these days micro-hydro is becoming more popular (<50kW). These can be sometimes be installed in industrial processes cooling, private water supply or drainage systems.
Considerations
A few things for consideration on a potential micro-hydro site:
Power output - a grid hook-up point must be less than 500m from the water source, unless the power is being generated for purely off-grid purposes or internal consumption.
Economics stack up.
Permit requirements.
Access to water rights
Environmental impact.
Potential Benfits
Long lifetime
High efficiency
Simple installation
Low maintenance costs
24/365 energy supply
Technology Options
Reverse Archimedes Screw
Gorlov Helical Turbine
Tidal Flow systems
Water wheels
Graviation Water Vortex
For the right site, waterpower has always been and will always be a good choice. Get in touch and we can help you assess the viability and option on your site.