Washington, DC (May 9, 2011) Legislation to improve the regulatory framework for hydropower development continued moving forward on Capitol Hill today as the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on draft legislation based on a bipartisan bill previously introduced by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Diane DeGette (D-CO).

The small Hydrovolts hydrokinetic turbine that was placed recently in the Roza Canal near Yakima can generate enough power to support three or four homes. That’s not huge, but the devices take only about an hour to install and don’t block the flow of water or obstruct the canal’s other water distribution functions.

After winning several clean technology awards, Seattle-based Hydrovolts raised $3 million from various angel groups and is actively looking for manufacturing sites in Washington state. It could have a turbine product on the market as early as 2013.

“It’s a huge advantage to us to be located …

May 22 — 23, 2012
University of Dayton River Campus
1700 South Patterson Blvd

The 2012 Water Technology Innovation Cluster Conference will feature targeted networking along with unique excursions and tours designed to allow participants to make water connections. Network with representatives from water utilities, industrial water users, students, researchers, regulators, entrepreneurs, and investors while visiting the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, kayaking down the Mad River, or relaxing at the Wine Gallery and Café.

The conference is an initiative of the Water Technology Innovation Cluster and the Dayton Water Roundtable. Keynote presentations and panel discussions will provide valuable insights in the regulatory environment, market demand, and emerging technologies, while the conference tracks explore specific practices and opportunities.

2012 04 11 Seattle Advisory

SELAH, Wash. — A Seattle startup is using a Valley irrigation canal to test a hydropower technology it hopes will have worldwide application.

Hydrovolts Inc. has a permit from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to test the 7.5-kilowatt turbine for the first time in the Roza Canal, north of here.

While one unit can power only about three homes, the possibility exists to link numerous turbines together, according to Burt Hamner, the company’s chief executive officer.

“The turbines, depending on the canal, can be placed every few hundred feet,” Hamner said in a telephone interview. “We believe in the western United States there is a potential for 80,000 units.”

Bureau officials also are interested because of the agency’s mandate to boost use of renewable energy.

Tony Hargroves, storage supervisor for the Yakima Irrigation Project, said it’s too early to determine how widespread the technology might become.

“We are in the early stages. Where this might be used is left up to your imagination,” Hargroves said.

One possibility is powering pumps used by small irrigation districts to divert water to farms.

The unit in the Roza canal is about 8 feet high and 15 feet wide and is anchored to the bottom by cables along the bank. The unit generates electricity when the flowing water turns blades.

Installation of two smaller units — actually floating devices — is planned in about two months.

Hamner said the unit being tested here is destined for delivery to a customer for use in rural India. The units cost between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on capacity.

Hamner said the largest need is in international markets.

“The demand for power is higher in many other countries. In India alone, there are 300 million people who don’t have electricity and many of them live along canals,” he said.

Hydrovolts, founded about two years ago, is one of as many as 80 companies in the United States working to develop hydrokinetic turbines, which deploy the motion of fluids. Most, Hamner said, are trying to harness wave energy. A minority of those companies are looking at the flow in canals.

The Roza project is the second time Hydrovolts has installed a generating device for testing purposes. The other is at a wastewater treatment plant in Port Orchard.

Hydrovolts project engineer Jim Styner said the unit was first installed last month under the bureau permit, which allows the company to test the generator through September. He hopes to renew the permit beyond that time to continue testing.

Water flows through the canal section most of the year to power the Roza hydroelectric power plant in north Terrace Heights.

SELAH, Wash. — A Seattle startup is using a Valley irrigation canal to test a hydropower technology it hopes will have worldwide application.

Hydrovolts Inc. has a permit from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to test the 7.5-kilowatt turbine for the first time in the Roza Canal, north of here.

While one unit can power only about three homes, the possibility exists to link numerous turbines together, according to Burt Hamner, the company’s chief executive officer.

“The turbines, depending on the canal, can be placed every few hundred feet,” Hamner said in a telephone interview. “We believe in the western United States there is a potential for 80,000 units.”

Bureau officials also are interested because of the agency’s mandate to boost use of renewable energy.

Tony Hargroves, storage supervisor for the Yakima Irrigation Project, said it’s too early to determine how widespread the technology might become.

“We are in the early stages. Where this might be used is left up to your imagination,” Hargroves said.

One possibility is powering pumps used by small irrigation districts to divert water to farms.

The unit in the Roza canal is about 8 feet high and 15 feet wide and is anchored to the bottom by cables along the bank. The unit generates electricity when the flowing water turns blades.

Installation of two smaller units — actually floating devices — is planned in about two months.

Hamner said the unit being tested here is destined for delivery to a customer for use in rural India. The units cost between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on capacity.

Hamner said the largest need is in international markets.

“The demand for power is higher in many other countries. In India alone, there are 300 million people who don’t have electricity and many of them live along canals,” he said.

Hydrovolts, founded about two years ago, is one of as many as 80 companies in the United States working to develop hydrokinetic turbines, which deploy the motion of fluids. Most, Hamner said, are trying to harness wave energy. A minority of those companies are looking at the flow in canals.

The Roza project is the second time Hydrovolts has installed a generating device for testing purposes. The other is at a wastewater treatment plant in Port Orchard.

Hydrovolts project engineer Jim Styner said the unit was first installed last month under the bureau permit, which allows the company to test the generator through September. He hopes to renew the permit beyond that time to continue testing.

Water flows through the canal section most of the year to power the Roza hydroelectric power plant in north Terrace Heights.