Hi all:
I'm hoping someone can give me an assist.
I live about 200 feet from a river that has what i call a choke-point between the rocks.
As this image shows,
it's an incredible pinch point that runs swift almost year-round, which i'd like to harness for hydro-power.
In fact, there are at least a dozen of these along the river, so if there is an adequate solution
for me, then maybe it could also provide some energy-independence for many others as well.
The river is just a fork of a larger one, and sees little use; once a year kayak'ers run the river after
the dam opens. That would be a small loss for a source of energy that, i estimate, pulls 400-500 gal/minute
even on the lowest August days. They could just circumnavigate around the generator, for that matter.
What I had in mind was some kind of turbo-generator similar to a jet engine; e.g. a hydro ram-jet
that could be set and bolted between the rocks and protected w/a steel mesh screen.
Assuming such a generator exists and can be installed, my primary issue would be how to run a power line
from the river to my house. doing it on the sly, as it were, would probably not be an issue as the
State/town has no reason to come up my way.
Burying the line is kind of out of the question as the river sits down in a gorge. Stringing wire in
the trees might be an option, but I'd like to be able to just snake the (220v) line through a
flexible pvc pipe and lay it on the ground
An advice regarding equipment, installation, hookup, or cautionary tales are greatly appreciated.
TIA
Rion
riondluz_at_gmail.com
there is a good reason we require photos to be less than 640 pixels wide and to make 3 photos into one so it is over 1000 pixels wide just isn't polite at all please repost them one by one under 640 x480 pixels thank you
Kurt