It is estimated that over 71% of the planet is covered with slowly moving water in rivers, canals, and ocean currents — an available but untapped source of power that could potentially replace the millions of fuel-burning generators currently supplying power at a high cost.
A new solution, called Waterotor, aims to change that by generating power wherever there is moving water — without requiring any dams to build.
Made by Canadian company Waterotor Energy Technologies, this novel turbine can convert over 50% of the available energy in water currents as slow as 2 mph, meaning it could be used in almost any river, canal, or ocean current. Plus, this continuous generation of electrical energy is conducted with a low environmental impact.
Waterotor is also high reliability, low maintenance device that can operate for very long periods without the need for an operator, maintenance, and without incremental operating costs.
The company’s technology was reportedly developed and refined in a NASA wind tunnel. The rotor blades are very robust and have curved surfaces on both sides of the blade, allowing for high drag and high lift to be generated simultaneously. The result is that Waterotor can deliver higher power in all slow-moving water speeds. Waterotor’s optimum performance is around 6.5 km/h (1.79 m/sec) 4 mph whereas some competing solutions need at least 11km/h (3 m/sec) or 6.6 mph or higher speeds.
All being said, we are not surprised to read that Waterotor’s ambitious goal is to supply affordable electricity to 1.2 billion people without power and 800 million people that depend on fossil fuel generators for their power.
Takeaway
Waterotor is also high reliability, low maintenance device that can operate for very long periods without the need for an operator, maintenance, and without incremental operating costs. All that makes it a great solution to replace the millions of fuel-burning generators currently supplying power at a high cost as well as to provide electricity to those living without it.
Action point
Thanks to its low impact on the environment, Waterotor is a good solution for pretty much any municipality living next to a river or ocean. Procuring one of these (for start) will not only help your city/town get a new source of power but will also send a strong signal to your constituents that you're into "green business." And that is something people (voters) care about these days — which could consequently have a positive impact on your career. Don't see how this could go wrong.
Waterotor is still a novelty and that means they have yet to build their distribution network. This leaves room for savvy companies to contact the Canadian company behind this technology and explore partnership opportunities. Considering Waterotor's benefits, this should be an easy sell. Not only does its hydropower technology harvests energy from the previously unused sources, it also does that in a way that doesn't have a negative impact on the environment. And those are the things you should be able to sell to the municipalities your business "covers" — as long as they are placed next to a river or ocean.