The water pressure is there, so you might as well use it.
That's the business plan of Zeropex, a Norwegian company that produces pico- or micro-hydro generators. The company has created a device that harvests the excess pressure from water running through municipal water plants to run a turbine and create electricity. Water agencies -- along with heavy-duty private sector water consumers like oil refineries and agribusiness -- have to pressurize water to purify it or move it. Currently, most municipal water agencies use pressure reduction valves to reduce the water pressure before sending it along.
"We're basically replacing pressure reduction valves with a turbine," said CEO Tor Ersdal during a presentation at Nordic Green II. The company's current turbine can generate up to 80 kilowatts of power. A second-generation turbine in pilot testing at the moment can generate up to 300 kilowatts. At 300 kilowatts, the payback on the machine is just under two years, he said. The electricity created by the turbine can be fed into the grid or consumed locally.
To read the full, original article click on this link: A Seventh Way To Generate Power from Water: Pico Hydro : Greentech Media
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