14 DAY TRIAL // Kinetic energy is something that flowing water will never run out of, which means that there is a lot of energy going to waste in every city's piping system.
Lucid Energy's LucidPipe Power System will change this though, thanks to funding from Harbourton Alternative Energy. While no cities, large or small, have adopted the concept yet, Portland, Oregon is soon going to.
The system, or at least the concept behind it, is relatively simple. A stretch of existing gravity-fed conventional pipeline used for transporting potable water will be replaced with a LucidPipe.
The pipe has four 42-inch / 107-cm turbines which will start spinning the moment water begins to course through the pipes.
And with each turbine connected to a generator (located on the outside of the pipe), the system will be able to produce 200 kW and will begin full capacity power generation in March.
Around 1,100 megawatt hours of energy per year should be the average power generation once it's given the green light, enough for 150 homes. This means around $2 / €1.76 million in energy sales to Portland General Electric over the next 20 years.
I don't really have to list all the reasons why this is a fortuitous development. I can only hope that the idea will spread, especially since the turbines have negligible impact on the water flow.