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Hydrovolts, Inc. provides new
hydropower solutions to generate
renewable energy from
fast-flowing water currents.
Hydrovolts turbines allow
distributed and point-of-use
generation or can generate
revenue from net metering to
the electrical grid.
Hydrovolts turbines are:
- simple
- safe
- complete
- compact
- modular
- scalable
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Hydrovolts to Present at
NWEN First Look Forum
Burt Hamner will
present Hydrovolts at the
Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN)
First Look Forum (FLF) this
coming Tuesday, March 24.
Hydrovolts is one of 12
companies selected from more
than 50 applicants.
Come out, see the show, meet
the Hydrovolts team, and
vote for us in the finals!
The event will be held from
1:00 to 6:30 at the Big
Picture in Belltown. More
details at
www.nwen.org. |
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New Hydrovolts Office
Hydrovolts has acquired a great
deal on office space in the
Washington Research Foundation
suite in Seattle, just south of
the University of Washington:
2815 Eastlake Ave E
Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98102
206-336-5560
Come visit us and
see the turbine!
Give it a spin, and you too
can create renewable
energy.
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Grant Funding
While Hydrovolts is currently
seeking investor funding, we are
also actively seeking other
sources that will advance our
technology and business. Funding
sources such as grants will
accelerate our progress without
diluting the ownership stake of
our investors.
For example, Dr. Jim Thompson of
the University of Washington's
Applied Physics Lab is leading
the effort to secure $300,000
from the US Navy's Office of
Naval Research (ONR).
The recently passed American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (the "Stimulus Bill")
also contains significant
funding for renewable energy
programs and
initiatives. Hydrovolts
qualifies for some of these
funds and remains deeply
engaged in the unfolding
process.
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Welcome
to the first
Hydrovolts
newsletter!
We've made a lot of
progress in
realizing our vision
of creating
renewable energy
from flowing water,
including:
- a prototype that
has created usable
power
- growing customer
interest
- an initial
patent filing
- adding to our
team
- an expanded
network of partners
and supporters
- establishing our
new office
This is an exciting
time to be
developing renewable
energy solutions,
and we are very
enthusiastic about
the expanding
opportunities.
This newsletter just
breaks the surface
of what we're making
happen.
There's much more to
tell than will fit
in this newsletter.
We hope you enjoy
reading it, and
we'd love to hear
what you think.
We expect to send
this newsletter
monthly, with the
occasional other
email when there
is breaking news.
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You have
received this
newsletter
because we got
your email
address in one
of the following
ways:
- You've
expressed
interest in
Hydrovolts
- You've been
interested/involved
in
previous/other
business
interests of
either Burt
Hamner or me
- You've given
one of us your
business card
- You've met
one of us at a
networking,
industry, or
entrepreneurial
event
We respect your
privacy;
clicking the
unsubscribe link
(either at the
top or the
bottom of this
email) will
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and will be
effective for
any and all
future
Hydrovolts
emails like this
one. We
apologize for
any
inconvenience.
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The Flipwing
Turbine Prototype
 Hydrovolts
has been prototyping
for more than a
year, and the
results keep getting
better. Company
co-founder
Burt Hamner
lights a 100W
lightbulb using the
patent-pending
Flipwing Turbine
in a benchtop test
at the University of
Washington's Applied
Physics Lab.
Successful in-water
tests have been
conducted in Lake
Union and at the
Ballard Locks.
Additional testing
and characterization
continues; results
are continuing to
meet engineering
plan requirements.
Several future
optimizations have
been identified, and
additional patent
filings will be
started later this
year.
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Better than Small
Wind or Small Solar
Hydropower from a
Hydrovolts turbine
is a better solution
for small scale
generation:
- Predictable:
Flowing water in
most channels is
very predictable and
in manmade channels
the flow is directly
controlled. The
amount of power
produced is known in
advance.
- Constant: Unlike
wind or solar, the
resource doesn't
come and go. Flowing
water provides
constant power 24/7.
- Compact: Making
5kW from wind
requires a turbine
on a 100-foot tower;
making 5kW from
solar requires more
than 10,000 square
feet of photvoltaic
panels. However,
Hydrovolts can make
5kW from just a
5'x5'x8' turbine,
fully submerged and
operating quietly
out of sight.
- Fast deployment:
A Hydrovolts turbine
can be deployed
without pouring
concrete, creating
dams, or making any
watercourse
modification--it is
literally a
"drop-in" solution
that can be
generating power in
under 2 hours. Solar
and wind take from
days to weeks to
install.
Best of all,
a Hydrovolts turbine
pays for itself in less
than 5 years, two or
three times faster than
wind or solar!
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What's Next
Brian
Peithman
has joined the
Hydrovolts team as
Director of
Engineering. Brian
is a graduate of the
Naval Academy in
Annapolis and served
five years as a
lieutenant on a
missile submarine
out of
Bangor, adding to
his experience in
power generation
and mechanical
engineering.
A canal
turbine
demonstration unit is
under construction
at Everett
Engineering, Inc.
and will be
installed in an
irrigation canal in
late spring. In
the picture Brian,
at left, discusses
next steps with Jim
Frink of Everett
Engineering. The
principals of
Everett
Engineering believe
in the Hydrovolts
approach and have
provided
several thousand
dollars worth of
in-kind assistance.
Hydrovolts has made
several trips to the
Yakima area to
investigate suitable
sites for
demonstration
units, to measure
water flows and
to met with local
irrigation district
officials. The
Kennewick Irrigation
District and the
Sunnyside Irrigation
District both
provided us
significant time
with their managers
and field staff to
tour their
operations
and discus specific
performance,
reliability,
compatibility,
siting and other
issues. Feedback
has been very
positive
and demonstration
siting will be
completed soon.
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Please
contact us to
find out more, to
see the
turbine in action,
or to get
involved! And
please send this on
to others you know
who may have an
interest, whether as
customers,
investors, or
advisors. |
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