Hydropower is energy derived from flowing water. More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greeks used waterpower to run wheels for grinding grain; today it is among the most cost-effective means of generating electricity and is often the preferred method where available. In Norway, for example, 99% of electricity comes from hydropower.
The world’s largest hydropower plant is the 22.5 gigawatt Three Gorges Dam in China. It produces 80 to 100 terawatt-hours per year, enough to supply between 70,000,000 and 80,000,000 households. Alternatively, small-scale hydropower projects can make a big difference to communities in remote locations.
The principle of hydropower is simple. Falling water is used to rotate the blades of a turbine, converting the potential energy to rotational kinetic energy which then spins a generator that converts the mechanical energy of the spinning turbine into electrical energy. Hydropower is a significant component of electricity production worldwide. It is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy. According to the International Energy Agency, hydropower represents about 17% of all electricity production and 70% of all renewable electricity. Traditional hydroelectric production will increase by about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
So Where Is The Problem?
Hydropower plants consist of 2 basic configurations, with dams and reservoirs, or without. Hydropower dams with a large reservoir can store water over short or long periods to meet peak demand. The facilities can also be divided into smaller dams for different purposes, such as night or day use, seasonal storage, or pumped-storage reversible plants, for both pumping and electricity generation.
However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where inundation of a part of the forest is necessary, they can emit substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. Further, construction of a hydroelectric complex can cause significant environmental impact, principally in loss of arable land and population displacement.
Damming, also disrupts the natural ecology of the river involved, affecting habitats and ecosystems, and the siltation and erosion patterns.
Further, while dams can ameliorate the risks of flooding, they also contain the risk of dam failure, which can be catastrophic. Hydropower without dams or reservoirs, means production is typically smaller in scale and designed to operate in a river or tidal estuary without effecting water flow. For this reason, many consider small scale hydropower to be a more environmentally friendly.
HydroNova's advanced technology can provide enough energy to power regional cities while at the same time delivering the environmental advantages of small scale hydropower generation.
By The Numbers HydroNova Solution
The ROI from a 50 megawatt generator at 15 cents per kilowatt if operated by an existing utility company and assuming maximum output, taking the current price per kilowatt the possible maximum return on investment over 25 years are estimated as follows.
The cost of building a HydroNova floating vessel is $US3,000 per kilowatt with equates to $US150,000,000. Annual turnover from electricity sales at US0.13 cents per Kilowatt is $US56,940,000 LESS the fixed maintenance fee of 1.5% and an allowance for operational costs at 1% which totals $US1,423,500 pa, equates to $US55,516,500 in revenue per year. Giving a payback of under three years and a total return of $US1,387,912,500 over 25 years, at maximum output.
How Many Dwellings Can be Powered
Based on emerging economies where these system as most likely to be used. Despite claims to the contrary and inflated figures issued by some renewable energy promoters, the number of average households that can be powered by a generation facility in an emerging economy generally follows this simple formula.
X= P x E xY/A
Where X is Number of dwellings,
P is Rated power of turbine in kilowatts,
E is Assumed availability per annum of power, Y is 8,760 = hours per annum of consumption, A is average consumption/dwelling kilowatts.
Australasean calculates based on the above formula that a 25 megawatt generator will power up to 12,500 residences, while a 50 megawatt system would provide for up to 25,000.