U.S. firm says pipeline energy can offer new paradigm for renewables

NEW YORK, New York, US, 2003-10-22 (Refocus Weekly) A U.S. company has developed a turbine which it claims will allow high-rise buildings to generate their own green power.

Rentricity designed the ‘Flow-to-Wire’(sm) turbine that is a compact version of larger hydropower equipment used to generate electricity. The gas and liquids that flow through commercial and industrial pipes, exert enough extra pressure to turn the small turbine, allowing renewable electric power to be generated by manufacturers or owners of high-rise buildings.

The power generated by the unit can be a byproduct of a chemical reaction, or can result from gravity pulling material from an elevated position. Officials say the unit can be introduced immediately with modest funding, due to the fact that existing components are used to construct the devices.

"There are hundreds of application opportunities to harness the energy in untapped confined flows," says Rentricity co-founder Jason Scharfspitz. "The major target areas are compressed natural gas pipelines, chemical manufacturing and refining facilities, high-rise buildings, cooling and refrigeration equipment, and other areas where compressed material is stored and then released in a regulated process."

There is no environmental impact from electric power produced by Flow-to-Wire devices, he explains, and Rentricity presented the turbine application to an investor energy conference in Philadelphia. It will also present the unit next month in Austin, Texas, at a forum organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Rentricity says a large water supply company in New England will participate in a pilot demonstration of the device that will be installed within an underground vault to transform surplus energy in water mains into electricity.

"Our initial focus will be municipal drinking water systems where, in over-pressurized water mains, Flow-to-Wire devices will mimic the functionality of pressure reduction valves and transform the excess pressure into electricity," says co-founder Frank Zammataro. "That power would then be consumed by the water utility or sold into the local power grid."

The power will qualify as renewable energy status in most states, he adds, and the company has integrated sensors to provide data that will track flow and pressure, and safeguard water supplies against homeland security threats. Each Flow-to-Wire system is designed to generate between 20 kWh to 100 kWh of electricity.

Rentricity is part of the Rensselaer Incubator Program, which was founded in 1980 as the first university-based incubator in the U.S. "We are excited to work with Rentricity to establish Flow-to-Wire technology as a new paradigm in distributed power generation and renewable energy," says Simon Balint of RPI.


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