While maybe theoretically possible, this is not practical. The only practical way to extract energy from this type of very low head, high flow river is to dam the river and channel the water through large turbines.
An open channel paddle wheel or propeller as you suggest would need to be HUGE to generate truly useable power. Especially at 2 knots. If the current was 5 or 6 knots, it might be worth an experiment if you are a skilled fabricator and dedicated tinkerer. The slow current at 2 knots just doesn't have that much energy density, so your blades would need to be quite large, and then you have to find a way to mount these blades on a hub or shaft of some kind to spin this contraption, and then you'd have to use gears or belts to get the rpms up to the speed to drive a generator. Better to save the effort and use your money to buy PV panels. There are folks doing current turbines out there. Do a search for "Marine Current Turbines" or "Gorlov Turbines". But you'll find that all of the projects underway are using a minimum of 4 knots, and likely in the 8 to 10 knot range. As the speed of the current increases, the power available increases in a non-linear manner (I believe it is to the cube of the velocity) So a 4 knot current has substantially more than twice as much energy as a 2 knot current. Eric -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of aviodont Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 4:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [microhydro] river electricity? Newbie here... so bear with me! Can someone tell me if it is possible to generate enough electricity for an avg household by inserting some sort of propellor into a river that is about 200-300 feet wide with a flow of 2 kts? If it is possible, can you point me in the right direction? If not entirely possible, how much electricity could be expected to be produced. Thanks in advance! Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/microhydro/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
