Scandanavian company produces power from pumped water

A Norwegian company has created a device that produces electricity from piped water under pressure.

It's an accomplishment that could win Zeropex a number of customers, especially amongst cities, counties and water districts that pay gobs of money for electricity to pump water. For instance, about 20 percent of the energy used in California is spent moving water around.

"Our energy efficient solutions are cutting your carbon footprint whilst improving your bottom line," the company says.

Zeropex explained the process this way: The micro generator "is a pressure-reducing system generating pure power from the pressure drop in fluids. It combines the pressure control from chokes and electricity generation from hydroturbines. DIFGEN is a cost effective replacement of pressure chokes in all types of systems where pressure control is vital."

In a Thursday post, greentechmedia.com said Rentricity and a few other companies have been trying to market the technology for some time but have faced difficulty because of cost, technology and finding a customer base.

But that may change. In his story, Michael Kanellos quoted Zeropex CEO Tor Ersdal as saying production cost is coming down and Michael Russell, a Cabinet Secretary in Scotland, as saying that his country is investing in micro hydro. Scottish Water plans to generate green electricity by fitting turbines in water mains and aims to launch a pilot project in Fife later this year, according to the Sunday London Times. "The device will generate enough electricity to power about 50 homes," wrote reporter Mark Home.

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization has worked with quite a few cities that plan to spend a portion of their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant allocations on pump replacement. Just installing variable frequency drive pumps can reduce energy costs by a third or more. The payback can be as brief as several years.

The SJVCEO is a nonprofit dedicated to improving our region's quality of life by increasing its production and use of clean energy. The SJVCEO works with cities and counties and public and private organizations to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the eight-county region of the San Joaquin Valley.