Portland's new pipes harvest power from drinking water: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3041300/portlands-new-pipes-harvest-power-from-drinking-water

An ingenious new system captures energy as water flows through the city's pipes, creating hydropower without the negative environmental effects of something like a dam.

Small turbines in the pipes spin in the flowing water, and send that energy into a generator.

For water utilities, which use massive amounts of electricity, the system can make it cheaper to provide clean drinking water.

Utilities can either use the power themselves or sell it to a city as a new source of revenue.

Utilities can either use the power themselves or sell it to a city as a new source of revenue.

"It's pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there's no environmental impact," says Gregg Semler, CEO of Lucid Energy, the Portland-based startup that designed the new system.

"But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That's what's exciting."

In Portland, one of the city's main pipelines now uses Lucid's pipes to make power that's sent into the grid.

Though the system can't generate enough energy for an entire city, the pipes can power individual buildings like a school or library, or help offset a city's total energy bill. U

nlike wind or solar power, the system can generate electricity at any time of day, regardless of weather, since the pipes always have water flowing through them.

2015-01-23

Co.Exist

Portland's New Pipes Harvest Power From Drinking Water

Turn on the tap and you're getting water and energy for the price of one.

If you live in Portland, your lights may now be partly powered by your drinking water. An ingenious new system captures energy as water flows through the city's pipes, creating hydropower without the negative environmental effects of something like a dam.

Small turbines in the pipes spin in the flowing water, and send that energy into a generator.

"It's pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there's no environmental impact," says Gregg Semler, CEO of Lucid Energy, the Portland-based startup that designed the new system. "But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That's what's exciting."

For water utilities, which use massive amounts of electricity, the system can make it cheaper to provide clean drinking water. Utilities can either use the power themselves or sell it to a city as a new source of revenue.

"We have a project in Riverside, California, where they're using it to power streetlights at night," Semler says. "During the day, when electricity prices are high, they can use it to offset some of their operating costs."

In Portland, one of the city's main pipelines now uses Lucid's pipes to make power that's sent into the grid. Though the system can't generate enough energy for an entire city, the pipes can power individual buildings like a school or library, or help offset a city's total energy bill. Unlike wind or solar power, the system can generate electricity at any time of day, regardless of weather, since the pipes always have water flowing through them.

The pipes can't generate power in every location; they only work in places where water is naturally flowing downward with gravity (if water is being pumped, the system would waste energy). But they have another feature that can be used anywhere: The pipes have sensors that can monitor water, something that utilities couldn't do in the past.

"We made electrical infrastructure really smart over the last 20 to 25 years, but the same hasn't happened in water," Semler says. He points to the example of a pipe that burst near UCLA last year, wasting a staggering 20 million gallons of water in the middle of California's crippling drought.

"They didn't really know that the pipe burst until somebody from UCLA called," Semler explains. "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."

Sensors in the pipe can also monitor water quality, making sure it's safe to drink.

The company hopes to work with cities to install new systems as old pipes wear out. They're also hoping to expand to the developing world. "It's a great source of remote power," says Semler. "So in places outside the city that don't have an electrical grid, you're able to use the system to generate energy."

The biggest potential for the new system may be in places like California, where 20% of total energy use goes into the water supply—and even more electricity will be used as cities start to install desalination plants. With the pipes, utilities can generate some of their own much-needed power.

"There's a lot of energy in going into making sure we have safe clean drinking water," Semler says. "Our focus is really on helping water become more sustainable."

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36 Comments

  • Warren Linnerooth

    hmmm... this actually wastes energy, in total. per the laws of thermodynamics, you cannot get free energy. this is just a wasteful way to get energy from the electrical pumps that pressurize the city's water supply. consider this: electrical pumps pressurize the municipal water supply. the energy generated from these little pipe generators come at the expense of a pressure drop across the little turbines. the big municipal pumps must work harder to overcome the pressure drop of the little generators. the municipal electrical pumps are not 100% efficient, therefore more energy is expended by the municipal pumps in doing the extra work to push the water past these generators than is generated by the little generators, themselves. net effect: wastes energy. it is more efficient to skip the generators, skip making the municipal pumps work harder, and just get the energy off of the power grid.

  • Tophe

    It is not wasting energy as Portland's water is gravity fed. This means there is no need for pumps so these systems actually do capture the kinetic energy from the falling water and create net gains in electricity.
  • Tophe

    Portland's water originates from a mountain and thus its water pipes are fed by gravity. This system simply captures the flow of the water that is affected by gravity so actually energy is captured, not lost.
  • Sinnadurai Sripadmanaban

    whenever water pass through a turbine,won't there be drop in head. When flow varies during 24hour period will the voltage and frequency be constant. What kind of generator is used.
  • Angelica Carey

    How much would installing these actually cost? As in, would city officials be more likely to transfer over to these (if they prove sound in not reducing pressure and flow)? Also, who and how would you determine which buildings they are built under, would it be like a lottery system or could they be bought out for specific lots and buildings?

  • drew

    I don't get it. If there's enough excess pressure in the city's pipes to power a bunch of small turbines, why not install single turbine upstream at the source? Seems to be it would be cheaper and more efficient.
  • Andrew M Dodson

    This is a painfully stupid idea.

    You don't build a pipe to transport fluids and then obstruct it. You are simply going to reduce the flow. Another problem with "in flow" turbines operating at low head is their power density is pitiful. We build very high hydroelectric dams for a reason, folks.

    This is basic engineering folks... how are these scams getting money?!!
  • Olivier Guerin

    IF you can get energy like this, that's mean water network pressure is too high and pumping cost can be reduce. From my point of view, the best economy is what you don't spend.
  • Patrick McCarthy

    The net loss of power at the generators need to be made up by an increase at the original pump or by adding pumps upline. Net Fail, the perpetual motion machine has not been invented yet. Plumbing 101

  • Did you miss the part where they said this only works with gravity-fed pipes? Unless you're going to argue that gravity itself requires power to operate, there's no loss here.

  • Howard Weaver

    This system certainly will deplete pressure in the downstream of the pipe. If there is enough excess pressure this might work, but that would probably be a "not very often" thing. If the citizens find their water sprinklers will only spray 5 feet, then there will be complaints.

  • Rafael Robyns

    What are you envisioning for the "gravity-fed" system you keep referencing? Where in the world is this system? Most water supplies are pumped up to a tower. That is "gravity-fed" but requires the pump, and as several commenters have noted, the loss of pressure negates the gains.
  • Jerome O'Neill

    In a city such as Portland there is need occasionally for pump assist. But in a well designed flow structure you start from the top and flow down. In flat cities the concept falls flat admitted. But in a city will many hills, where your source is above the cities altitude, and has a well designed flow structure, there is tones of excess pressure that is routinely negated by means of constricting the flow (which normally increases pressure) into a larger pipe (which decreases pressure). This is akin to stepping on the break peddle on your car, another 0 gain waist of kinetic energy that will be addressed in the age of electric cars where breaking can be useful by engaging hard to turn high energy producing generators that charge the battery with the momentum that we currently waist.

  • Jason Nunnold

    I believe most of Portland's water supply is gravity fed from a reservoir that is a higher altitude than the city itself.

  • Did you miss the part in the article where they said this only works with gravity-fed pipes? Unless you're going to argue that gravity itself is a force that requires power to operate, you're off the mark.