Concepts NREC, LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 15

Description

According to a 2014 study commissioned by the Department of Energy, hydropower from more than 3 million untapped streams in the United States could potentially generate 65 gigawatts of electricity and help to reduce greenhouse emissions and pollution. However, the development of hydropower has been limited by several obstacles, as described by the United States Geological Survey: most of the prime locations have already been developed, and the cost, time, and environmental impact of constructing conventional hydroelectric facilities at relatively low power levels are untenable. A low-cost, low- impact, high-performance hydropower turbine is needed to cost-effectively tap into the large amount of this available hydropower. The proposed work will create a low-cost, modular, and very low-head hydroelectric turbine generator unit. This unit will have a small footprint and a reduced environmental impact, and will function in a broad range of operating conditions. By focusing on very low-head applications, many of the issues of free-stream power generation can be avoided while still keeping the site impact and footprint low. Several design technologies (hydrodynamic and structural) can be applied to a small, very low-head hydro turbine to address issues of cost, durability, installation, and performance. Phase I tasks include: • Conducting a study to determine optimum turbine sizing to best utilize the modular stackable nature of the design and accommodate a broad range of installation parameters. • Carrying out a hydrodynamic design study to develop and optimize the axial turbine geometry for low-head applications—including the ability to scale or to stack units to cover a range of flows and heads. • Creating a mechanical design of the turbine generator system, and working to realize the mechanical design benefits described above by incorporating novel drive techniques. • Developing a production cost model for the turbine generator unit that factors in the impact of low-cost manufacturing techniques. If this project is carried over into Phase II or Phase III, the commercial applications are extensive. There are a very large number of existing sites inside and outside the United States where this technology can be applied immediately. Key Words: Hydro, hydro turbine, hydroelectric