Conduit hydroelectricity (or conduit
hydropower
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...
) is a method of using mechanical energy of water as part of the water delivery system through man-made conduits to generate electricity. Generally, the conduits are existing water
pipelines such as in
public water supply
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...
. Some definitions expand the definition of conduits to be existing tunnels, canals, or
aqueducts that are used primarily for other water delivery purposes than electricity generation.
Historically, electricity generation from water pipelines was rare because the water would have been pumped by
other engines in the system prior to the intake of
water turbine
A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work.
Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, ...
s to generate electricity. The energy generated from the turbines would have been offset by the power used in pumping, canceling out the power generation benefit.
However, there have been renewed interests to apply this method to recover energy when there is a need to reduce pressure in the water supply system that is normally done through
pressure reducing valve
A pressure regulator is a valve that controls the pressure of a fluid or gas to a desired value, using negative feedback from the controlled pressure. Regulators are used for gases and liquids, and can be an integral device with a pressure setti ...
s. The conduit hydroelectricity generation in this case can be done by replacing the pressure reducing valves with small turbines and
electrical generator
In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power ( chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...
s.
Since 2008, there has been considerable technological development in off-the-shelf "“water-to-wire” turbine technologies including reaction, impulse, and hydrokinetic turbines that target the sub 1-MW in-conduit hydroelectric market."
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
uses conduit generation in its water pipes. The
Imperial Irrigation District
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is an irrigation district that serves the Imperial Valley in Southern California. Established under the State Water Code, the IID supplies roughly of Imperial Valley farmland with raw Colorado River water ...
had plans for 14 new conduit hydropower projects in 2016.
In 2013, the US had "a total of 236
FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...
authorized conduit exemption projects."
References
{{reflist
External links
Lucid EnergySoar HydropowerRentricity
Hydroelectricity
Water industry
Water supply infrastructure