Electricity generating water pipes have been installed in Portland.
This amazing idea has been thought up by the Portland-based energy company Lucid Energy.
Renewable sources of energy are all around us, but harvesting the energy can often be a problem.
Lucid Energy had the great idea of utilizing the rushing water that flows through underground pipes every day to generate electricity via kinetic energy.
Gregg Semler, CEO of Lucid Energy said:
“It’s pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there’s no environmental impact. But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That’s what’s exciting,”
“We have a project in Riverside, California, where they’re using it to power streetlights at night. During the day, when electricity prices are high, they can use it to offset some of their operating costs,”
The pipes have already been put to good use, and they are generating electricity for public spaces in the city.
Water pipes were fitted with special gyroscopes which rotate as the water passes through them, generating power 24 hours a day.
Semler also said:
“We made electrical infrastructure really smart over the last 20 to 25 years, but the same hasn’t happened in water.
They didn’t really know that the pipe burst until somebody from UCLA called. Our pipe can get indicators like pressure, a leading indicator for whether a pipe is leaking or not.
So before it bursts and before we waste all the water, there are onboard information systems that water agencies can get to more precisely manage their infrastructure,”
The companies idea is hoped to be put to use in rural areas where generating electricity can be a problem.
The unique idea is the first time that water power has been used in such a widespread and urban setting.
The CEO added:
“It’s a great source of remote power. So in places outside the city that don’t have an electrical grid, you’re able to use the system to generate energy. There’s a lot of energy in going into making sure we have safe clean drinking water. Our focus is really on helping water become more sustainable,”
Renewable energy is the only way the earth is going to be able to sustain the amount of power we have evolved to require.
Non-renewable sources like coal, oil and gas are quickly running out, and we need more smart ideas like Lucid Energy’s water pipes to sustain the world’s power needs.
