. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
River turbines turn Austria's Danube from blue to green
By Philippe SCHWAB
Spitz, Austria (AFP) Nov 25, 2015


The Wachau, a picture-postcard river valley in Austria, makes a lot of wine. Soon it could be producing its own electricity too, and in a way that will not spoil the stunning views.

"Wind turbines are out of the question and solar panels are strictly regulated," says Andreas Nunzer, mayor of picturesque Spitz on the left bank of the Danube river.

"But we have found a way to contribute to the fight against global warming without harming our quality of life."

It is called river current power.

The idea is to place in the river what looks on the surface like the top of a submarine but is in fact a six-tonne buoy producing enough electricity for 250 people.

Below the waves is a turbine turned by the fast-flowing waters -- more brown than the blue of Strauss's famous waltz -- of the Danube, one of Europe's main waterways.

So far, three prototype river turbines producing between 40 and 80 gigawatts of electricity have been tested in the Wachau, but Nunzer has ambitious plans.

"We have obtained all the necessary permits to have nine of them, and we don't plan to stop there. We're just waiting for mass production," he told AFP.

According to Fritz Mondl, co-president of Aqua Libre, the Austrian firm that has spent the past 10 years developing the technology, this stage should begin next year.

In time, the aim is for all the 30,000 inhabitants of the UNESCO-protected valley, its steep slopes covered in vineyards and dotted with centuries-old castles, to get their power in this way.

- 24/7 renewable energy -

Mankind has long harnessed the awesome kinetic energy of rivers, most notably with hydroelectric power, the first plant being built at Niagara Falls in the United States back in 1879.

But even though the technology produces no climate-changing greenhouse gases -- which the Paris climate talks aim to reduce -- building the vast dams necessary nowadays is politically tricky, particularly in Europe.

"Forty years ago we successfully fought against a hydroelectric dam here," said Christian Thiery, owner of a Wachau hotel and restaurant at Durnstein, where English king Richard the Lionheart was famously imprisoned in the 12th century.

"Thank goodness we did, because we live off tourism now," he says. He has already ordered one of Aqua Libre's buoys to power his 100-bed hotel.

And apart from being unobtrusive, a key selling point of this new technology, its proponents say, is that it is the only source of renewable energy that works 24 hours a day and without the need for heavy infrastructure.

Problems that have long held the technology back, such as clogging of the turbines by plants and debris in the river, have been overcome. Nor do the buoys interfere with shipping or kill fish.

"The global market is forecast to be worth 15 billion euros ($16 billion) in 10 years," said Jean-Francois Simon, chief executive of French firm HydroQuest, which has installed its water turbines in French Guiana and in Orleans, France.

According to Simon, the relatively small generating capacity of the turbines is a turnoff to big firms, so the sector is dominated by smaller companies like his, Aqua Libre, Smart Hydro of Germany, Canada's Idenergie and Torcado of The Netherlands.

But it is the small water turbines' modest size, simplicity and ease of installation that make them attractive, in particular for areas of the developing world that are not connected to any power grid, he believes.

"The water turbines can work in farms of several dozen units and above all can use untapped sources of hydroelectric energy," he told AFP.

"They aren't going to turn the energy mix upside down, but they can play their part."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Austria's largest state goes 100% renewable
Vienna (AFP) Nov 5, 2015
Austria's largest state said Thursday that 100 percent of its electricity is now generated using renewable sources of energy. "We have invested heavily to boost energy efficiency and to expand renewables," said Erwin Proell, premier of 1.65-million-strong Lower Austria. "Since 2002 we have invested 2.8 billion euros ($3.0 billion) in eco-electricity, from solar parks to renewing (hydroel ... read more


WATER WORLD
Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

SwRI scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's

All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

Russian moon mission would need 4 Angara-A5V launches

WATER WORLD
Study: Mars to become a ringed planet following death of its moon

A witness to a wet early Mars

NASA completes heat shield testing for future Mars exploration vehicles

Curiosity Mars Rover Heads Toward Active Dunes

WATER WORLD
XCOR develops Lynx Simulator

Orion ingenuity improves manufacturing while reducing mass

Orion's European module ready for testing

General Dynamics demos SGSS Command and Control Infrastructure for NASA

WATER WORLD
China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

China's satellite expo opens

New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016

WATER WORLD
ISS EarthKAM ready for student imaging request

Partners in Science: Private Companies Conduct Valuable Research on the Space Station

SAGE III Leaves Langley for Journey to ISS

New Crew to Stay Aboard ISS for 7 Months Instead of 6

WATER WORLD
NASA Orders SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station

NASA Selects New Technologies for Parabolic Flights and Suborbital Launches

United Launch Alliance exits launch competition, leaving SpaceX

Spaceport America opens up two new campuses

WATER WORLD
Forming planet observed for first time

UA researchers capture first photo of planet in making

Rocket Scientists to Launch Planet-Finding Telescope

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

WATER WORLD
Creating a new vision for multifunctional materials

3-D printing aids in understanding food enjoyment

Success in producing a completely rare-earth free Feni magnet

Bringing the chaos in light sources under control









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.