mcgraw_wv

I, on my completely own idea thought of a way to generate power via a whirlpool rather than falling water ( standard Hydro-electric ) but this idea was already thought up already and was nominated for the ENERGY GLOBE AWARD?

Directory:Zotloterer Gravitational Vortex Power Plant - PESWiki

I always think of things... before I even research it, and I was thinking, man a whirlpool doesn't need much a drop to generate power as the earth gravity will pull the water in a circle fairly quick, if we can harness it to generate power...

So then I searched, and I found someone already did it...

Now where my idea comes in to make his Idea bigger, is that since you need very little drop in water fall, meaning the height of water on entrance to the height of the water on exit ( 0.7 meters acording to his site ) could you not multi stack these whirlpool generators into an array of electric generation. You should in theory be able to continually add whirlpools for ever if given enough run time between each. and elevation requirements.

So for example starting with a water fall of 500 feet, you could daisy chain like 220 of these generators together to produce insane amount of free, pollution free energy.

500 feet = 150 meters

0.7 meter fall rate needed to produce this whirlpool generator means you can stack 220 of these generators in a silo liek design that just keeps spinning these generators.

Over a year, this 1 generator produced 50,000 kWatt-hours of electricity * 220 = 110,000,000 kwatt-hours of electricity a year or 110,000 Mega Watts a year.

Each generator costs roughly 51,100.00 dollars, but when building in bulk we should see some major savings for a guess of half the price per generator. 26,000 * 220 = 5.72 Million dollars to build.

Now, let's compare this to Nuclear power, first I can't find rough cost estimates for building a nuclear power plant, but I found that the US is looking to build more power plants in the "$2,000 / kwatt hour range" Which means in order to produce 1 kwatt the total cost of a plant is 2,000 * the amount it can generate.

Virginia has a few Nuclear Power Plants, and one of their main ones generate 1,700 Mega watts. That's 1,700,000 kwatts. That's a total cost of 3,400,000,000. If I have all the right info that's roughly a 3.4 Billion dollar price tag on a Nuclear Power Plant. Which sounds about right.

Now a Nuclear Power Plant generates ALOT more power, 1700 Mega Watts, and the Whirlpool only generates 110,000 a year / 365 days / 24 hours = 12.5 Mega watts. so it would take building 136 of these whirlpool generators to equal the output of a nuclear power plant, which typically powers 400,000 homes. The cost of build 136 of these whirlpool silo generators would be 6.95 Million dollars.

By some rough Math, for the same 3 Trillion dollars, you can build 432 whirlpool silo generators, generating 12.5 each for total hourly output of 5,400 Mega Watts. Roughly 3.2 times more energy than 1 Nuclear Power plant. The best part is you have that power evenly distributed 432 times throughout the power grid giving you no single Large fail point. No waste, No Carbon, pure clean re-useable energy.

So why aren't we doing this?


I understand that building 432 of these will only power 1.5 million homes, and it seems as though where would we find that many rivers with a 500 drop off point... But if you look at the top link, the amount of water needed through that channel is nothing compared to a large river. Imagine a project like Hover Damn, with it's amount of water, and drop level, you could build 200 whirlpool silos right there...

IcyPatriot

Enviromentalists are all over any change to the natural flow of water ... and with good reason. Projects like those take years to even get off the drawing board and the initial expense is often to high to follow up on the plans.

Holy Diver

Isn't this already called a "dam"?

or are you talking about converting a waterfall?

Born_a_Patriot

Methods for harnessing the undulating action of waves to generate usable energy. From research and development to presently implemented solutions that harness the power of waves for energy production
Directory:Ocean Wave Energy - PESWiki

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Holy Diver

More than anything I am excited that energy possibilities like these will be explored under an Obama Presidency.

Dick Cheney will not be running the "Energy Task Force" behind closed doors making record profits for big oil.


We wil move ahead, people! and THAT is exciting!

MrBigglesWorth

could you in theory use suction or gravity to bring the water back to the top somehow? and this would make it constantly moving?

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PatriotsReign

Some baby boomer already thought of this....

IcyPatriot

Nobody has yet designed a way to have 100% energy transfer ... Energy is not created or destroyed only transferred albiet with loss(transfers) to areas that are unproductive. The first person to create an energy transfer system with 100% perpetual transfer will become rich beyond imagination. Years ago they thought coal did this but no dice because their is heat/friction energy transfer loss along the way.

MrBigglesWorth

it would be funny if it was completely obvious when it was discovered.

the first person to discover it could be a wanted man as there are many who don't want to see free energy developed for the betterment of humanity

__________________
"There are two categories of superbowl participants that nobody remembers:

The team that lost the game and the team that only won one." Dwight White- Steelers

IcyPatriot

when I was younger there was always rumors about the Germans & Russians having patents for stuff that was too good to be true ... like tires that last forever. We believed that then ... not sure how true it was.