An "in-stream hydrokinetic turbine" for harvesting electric power from canals, irrigation networks, wastewater systems and the streams in and around industrial sites could be available by 2011. "Think of it as the love child between a steamboat paddle wheel and a small hydroelectric dam" reports Greentechmedia.
Developed by Hydrovolts, the device will cost about £300, and can be placed in relatively slow moving water courses. A six-foot by four-foot turbine in an irrigation canal flowing at two meters a second might produce 1.5 kilowatts. The same turbine in a four-meter-per-second stream might produce 6 kilowatts to 8 kilowatts.
Above: Lab test at Washington University.