We have good news for those who live near rivers and need clean energy to power their homes. Turbulent, a Belgian company, has designed a fish-friendly whirlpool turbine that can be set up in a matter of days.
This innovative turbine, which can be installed in almost all rivers and canals, can supply energy for many homes 24 hours per day. The generator uses only flowing water to generate energy, making it affordable.
The system can power 60 homes. It has a long life expectancy and is easy to maintain. The screen can capture large debris, so it doesn’t require any maintenance. It can even be remotely monitored.
Turbulent claims that whirlpools offer a better alternative to solar energy for areas with rivers. A small hydro plant is the best option wherever there is a river. “While solar can be a great way of supplementing power needs with renewable energies, it is not as efficient as a small hydro plant.” Turbulent explains that it is compact, cost-effective, and reliable.
One of the turbines was built by the firm for the Green School in Bali (Indonesia). The Green School wanted to provide a world-class education using renewable energy, in the middle of the jungle.
Tubelent’s turbines were born. The turbines were able to generate power from very small rivers with minimal height differences and without causing any damage to the local environment. Turbulent whirlpools are also resilient to extreme weather like tropical storms.
Turbulent currently builds whirlpools all over the globe in Suriname and the Philippines. Other past projects include whirlpools built in France, Estonia, and Chile.
The Turbulent whirlpool has one problem. The Turbulent whirlpool only works when there is no water in the pool. If the water freezes, the whirlpool will stop working.
This problem is not present in any of the locations where turbines have been built.
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