Some Properties Have the Potential for Micro-Hydro

I was lucky enough to stay on a magnificent property in Northern California this past weekend, an Italian-style villa made even more spectacular by a rushing river running through it, which bathed my fellow guests and me in what is arguably the most soothing and tranquil sound on the planet.

Coincidentally, our host told me that he is very interested in renewable energy, and asked me about solar panels. But when we finally got around to walking down to the river, I was impressed at what I saw, and told him that I’d do some rough calculations on the power that could potentially be extracted from the river itself.

I just wrote to him:

Per our talk, I’ve done a few calcs based on the hydrokinetic power you may be able to take out of the river that runs through your property. Even with the river running at the seasonal low point, at a minimum you have at least 50 gallons per second, dropping at least a few feet.

Potential energy = the mass of the water * gravitational acceleration * the height from which the water’s falling. Here, let’s round that off to 200 KG * 10 M/sec/sec * 1 meter = 2000 joules/sec = 2000 watts. Even though you won’t get all that due to efficiency losses, that’s not too bad, and, in the winter and spring, I’m guessing you’ll get at least 5 – 10 times that.

The bad news is you will have to make some changes in the flow of the river in the form of a small dam, which may not be feasible for various reasons. In any case, I thought you’d be interested to know that such a project could be worthwhile if you wish to pursue it.