Local ApplicationsMadison, Wisconsin, is situated between two of the five lakes connected by the Yahara River and is home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The city of Madison and the University are both green energy friendly areas and would greatly benefit by increased hydrokinetic energy generation. With the stream flow and lake size both being moderately small, the generator of choice for this area would be a microhydro energy generation method using small turbines placed in rivers. According to the Idaho National Laboratory, opportunities for microhydro energy along the Yahara River exist south of Lake Waugesa and just north of Lake Kegonsa as seen below.
Power output [kW] = Discharge x Head x Turbine efficiency x conversion factor(9.81) P=Qhe(9.81) P=(7.05 cu.m/s)(1m)(.5)(9.81) P=34.58kW When choosing a site to generate microhydro power, you should consider the power you need to yield from the generator to make the costs of installation worth it. If more power is generated than you need, some power companies will purchase the excess energy. Why Hydrokinetic Power?The reasons to implement hydrokinetic generators both on a large scale and on a small scale are many. The largest, impending reason is to sever reliance on fossil fuels through utilizing present day technology for our energy needs. In a 2004 article published in Science, Pacala and Socolo describe a method to reduce greenhouse emissions on a global scale by utilizing several present day technologies simultaneously on a scale that would level off global emissions while we develop technologies that can replace fossil fuels. This method utilizes "stabilization wedges" that consist of the emissions reduced by using alternative energy sources. The article did not include hydrokinetic generators as a possible stabilization wedge. However, if large scale hydrokinetic generators coupled with microhydro in lakes and streams were implemented, we feel that hydrokinetic energy would be a viable source of electricity thus cutting down fossil fuel emissions. Every little bit helps and in this situation, humanity needs all the help it can get.
Image courtesy of S. Pacala and R. Socolo, 2004 If helping to save the planet from global warming is not enough, you could generate income from producing more electricity than you need as stated above! |
The average annual discharge at each location according to the Wisconsin Division of Energy:
South of Lake Waubesa q=4.67 cubic meters per second
North of Lake Kegonsa q=7.05 cubic meters per second
The power that could be attained from the second location (North of Lake Kegonsa) with a drop of 1 meter of head in the designed turbine acting at 50% efficiency would follow the equation below as described in