Water pipes hold flood of untapped electricity potential
- Reference: 1665672666
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/10/13/us_water_pipes_contains_a/
- Source link:
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) reached this conclusion after what they [1]described as a first-of-its-kind study examining the potential power generation of small and micro-scale hydroelectric generators bolted on to existing water infrastructure.
Using both existing data from water regulators and "novel remote sensing and feature detection techniques," the ORNL team said it was taking the first step in not only understanding the US's untapped conduit hydropower potential, but also to raise awareness that such a power source exists.
[2]
"For all its benefits, the biggest barrier is a general lack of awareness of conduit hydropower's potential," said Shih-Chieh Kao, ORNL's water power program manager.
[3]
[4]
That's not to say conduit hydropower isn't being used in the US – it is, but it's only generating around 530MW nationwide, ORNL said in [5]the study [PDF]. That 1.41GW, on the other hand, [6]could power more than a million homes.
Who forgot about all that pressurized, flowing water?
Hydroelectric power is facing [7]serious challenges as climate change and [8]overuse begin to drain rivers. Additional projects that would put water-intensive semiconductor fabs in [9]locations like Texas , where water is already scarce, have been facing increased criticism as well.
Power generation in an increasingly electricity-fueled future will likely rely on distributed energy resources ( [10]DERs ) that produce small amounts of clean energy for local consumption. Conduit hydropower is simply the distributed answer to large-scale dams.
"The undeveloped potential presents a great opportunity to develop clean and renewable hydroelectric energy across the nation," the ORNL team said in the study.
[11]
For the sake of generating power, ORNL said it considers any "manmade water conveyance that is operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity" as a tappable source. Most deployments would tend toward the very small scale – existing conduit hydro projects top out at less than 10MW, the team explains.
Most of the power generated by such small facilities would go toward stabilizing microgrids and offsetting energy needs for water system operators, which ORNL said is typically a significant portion of their costs. Conduit hydro systems could also be net metered, meaning unused energy could be returned to the grid for further cost offsets, ORNL said.
[12]GM races after Tesla with battery pack tech and solar deal
[13]Westinghouse sale signals arrival of a new nuclear age
[14]Micro molten salt reactor can fit on a truck, power 1k homes. When it's built
[15]Charge a future EV in less than five minutes – using literally cool NASA tech
Further, as water infrastructure ages and need replaced, that upgrade can include some power generation potential. "Tapping conduit hydropower from water distribution systems can be a sustainable long-term water and energy supply solution," the ORNL team said.
Like most things, this'll take time
Most of the potential to generate electricity from water distribution infrastructure can be found in western states like California, Colorado, and Washington, all of which have miles of water conduits mostly used for agriculture, and lots of mountains where water flows freely downhill.
But ORNL's study didn't focus on specific locations and "may not identify accurate site-specific opportunities that are more suitable to support further feasibility assessments and investment decisions."
In other words, this isn't going to happen overnight.
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Toss in a lack of public awareness and a dearth of "consistent and equitable incentives compared with other renewable resources," and you have a recipe for a technology that goes unnoticed despite its potential benefits.
ORNL said that there's yet another reason to consider getting conduit hydroelectric generators plugged into grids: the 1.41GW figure is probably way lower than the actual potential.
"The authors attempted to incorporate a variety of data and approaches to estimate the national conduit hydropower potentials, but the significant data gaps still represent a major hurdle to capturing the full resource potential," the researchers said.
"Given these uncounted opportunities" – which ORNL said includes self-supplied water withdrawals, incorrect coordinates on maps used for estimates, and other things unmeasurable in a broad study like this – "there could be more conduit hydropower than … estimated in this study." ®
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[1] https://www.ornl.gov/news/existing-water-infrastructure-may-hold-key-generating-more-hydropower
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y0g2GX8NhewiWC81rTpE6QAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub176069.pdf
[6] https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/23/how-much-is-a-gigawatt-anyways.aspx
[7] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-03-15/the-dangerous-future-of-hydroelectric-power
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/13/intels_net_positive_water_use/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/21/samsung_texas_11_fabs_planned/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/18/tesla_expands_powerwalltogrid_program/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y0g2GX8NhewiWC81rTpE6QAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/gm_battery_car_storage/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/westinghouse_sale_nuclear/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/05/micro_molten_salt_reactor/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/05/nasa_battery_charging/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y0g2GX8NhewiWC81rTpE6QAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The elephant in the water pipe?
We see a lot of high pressure water deliveries in the southern United States ... for example Florida after Hurricane Ian went through.
So putting generators in the rivers and organizing things to generate electricity and avoid flooding might work in future. Locally the Mississippi is only about 5 to 6 feet at the moment, but we see flooding potentials when it goes above 30 feet every year - it would be a lot of work to create a non-flooding power generation environment but it could be very helpful.
Re: The elephant in the water pipe?
But it was calculated on a green computer with green desktop background. The report was printed on (olive) green paper and a very dark green ink was used in the printing process. The research was performed with green hands and all have been washed in natural green. The only non-green affects were the mauve glasses of the data processors and writing staff.
Therefore, no negative side-effects can be seen as all has been properly green and mauve filtered. The green paper also outlined advice for the next generation on how the colours green and mauve can be reused effectively for any additional reports.
Re: The elephant in the water pipe?
...the mauve glasses...
I take it you mean "rose - tinted spectacles".
Re: The elephant in the water pipe?
But using "rose - tinted spectacles" would be too obvious, wouldn't it?
Back to the Future
"1.41GW figure is probably way lower than the actual potential."
If it's acknowledged as being a lowball estimate, why didn't they do the decent thing and "estimate" 1.21GW for full Doc Brown credibility?
Also - it's unclear who will suffer from having the energy removed from the water flow, but it's highly likely to be consumers. Shitty low-pressure shower anyone? Ten minutes to fill your kettle for a brew? (Oh, I forgot - it's the USA, no decent cups of tea there hence no kettles. OK, coffee machine then.) Someone has to suffer - ye cannae break the laws of physics and specifically Bernoulli's equation.
Grammar, please...
"Further, as water infrastructure ages and need replaced, that upgrade can include some power generation potential."
This should be either "needs to be replaced" or "needs replacement."
Re: Grammar, please...
"Where's your grammar?"
"She's upstairs havin a nap."
Slower water=more nasties
That need 2GW to treat.
There really is no such thing as a free lunch.
Malaria is my first thought.
Magic Energy?
The head of water is purely artificial in most water distribution systems. Locally we design for 'fire flows' -- forget opening a tap to fill a kettle, we need enough pressure and flow to keep the fire department happy and we do this by positioning tanks on hilltops. The water in those tanks has to be pumped up to them; it actually came from about 500 miles away and went across a couple of mountain ranges to get to us but that's modern engineering for you.
I'm sure there's places where water flow is entirely gravity driven (Manchester's system was designed like this) but its probably one of a minority of systems.
(What on Earth do they teach people under the guise of 'science' at school these days?)
Re: Magic Energy?
" The water in those tanks has to be pumped up to them "
So we could use electric pumps to raise the water and then put generators in the downward flow. With any luck the magic would permit perfect matching of the energy conversions so the generators would power the pumps.
Re: Magic Energy?
So we could use electric pumps to raise the water and then put generators in the downward flow. With any luck the magic would permit perfect matching of the energy conversions so the generators would power the pumps.
I wish you hadn't written the above; it won't be long before a politician opens his or her mouth in the belief that you were serious, followed by "why isn't this happening now?" Politicians and anything technical do not make a good mix.
Re: Magic Energy?
Given that [1]Dinorwig Power Station (Electric Mountain) manages about 75% efficiency then that magic had better be strong stuff.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station
Re: Magic Energy?
I guess the pumping to the hilltop is the same no matter what is done later. That would mean that as long as it doesn’t bother the fire service, there could be potential for _recovering_ some energy.
Ay?
But physics says No. Unless Gravity is involved, then it's a Yeah but no but, maybe.
Great Scott
That's enough energy to take you back to the future
Just no
The pressure in the pipes is supplied by pumps by maintaining a certain pressure. Using this pressure means the pump must work harder. It is not free energy.
This is completely insane.
The elephant in the water pipe?
Nothing is free in physics. The energy "generated" (i.e. converted into electric current) is extracted from the kinetic energy of the water flow. Consequently that flow will be less energetic on the downstream side. I see no mention of the effects this might have on water services, but particularly in the case of large field irrigation (e.g. in agriculture) this could be of significance.