Free Electricity From Water Pipes (News item).

[FatBird]

http://www.trueactivist.com/portland-just-installed-water-pipes-that-generate-electricity/


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[Enoch]

This is not free energy.
The turbines grab the energy used by the pump to put the water of the pipe under pressure!

[MarkE]

The irony here is that they would have saved more money by just reducing their pressure by the same amount as the turbines do.  And they could do that without buying extra equipment.

[mscoffman]

This is not free energy.
The turbines grab the energy used by the pump to put the water of the pipe under pressure!

They seem to imply this is energy is free, but it really depends in a rather complex way on electrical
versus water equipment costs. It inverts the concept to water leaks being a good which is probably
bad. Hardly a brilliant idea...maybe a dim one. Also isn't really new.

[e2matrix]

Great idea - for Portland anyway and that assumes they are talking about Portland, OR.   Not a problem that some are making this out to be as I suspect this involves the huge and swift flowing Columbia River which comes from a higher elevation than Portland.   If they are putting the pipes between the higher elevation and the city than no power would be consumed getting the water through the pipes as it would be gravity fed.   It would be like adding mini-damn generators along the distribution pipes.   Sounds like an excellent plan.