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Hydrovolts, Inc. provides new
hydropower solutions to generate
renewable energy from fast-flowing
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
Hydrovolts turbines are also
extraordinarily cost-effective with
an operating cost of less than
$0.01/kWh, and a typical capital ROI
of less than 5 years. |
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With help from Professor Bruce
Adee and some of his students,
Hydrovolts tested the Flipwing
turbine in a flume at the University
of Washington.
Check out the video!
Progress on making the turbine
fully submersible has been
delayed due to the difficulty of
getting parts from suppliers. We
expect the last parts to arrive this
week, and, after final assembly, we
will be ready for the next stage of
testing and demonstration.
Our next demonstration will show
more clearly than ever before the
promise of this revolutionary new
hydropower approach and why we
believe it superior to all prior
designs. Want to see a demo? You
can! We'll send an email in advance
of the next in-water test, or you
can
contact us for details.
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Grant Funding
In the past month Hydrovolts has
submitted two grant applications.
Under the US Department of Energy's
(DOE)
Advanced Waterpower Technologies
Program Hydrovolts responded to
an open RFP for marine and
hydrokinetic energy technologies,
proposing to test the marine life
impacts of the
Hydrovolts Flipwing and three
other turbines. As a corollary, we
would also collect data on the
relative performance characteristics
of the four turbines.
Hydrovolts has also submitted an
application for a grant under
California's
Energy Innovation Small Grant (EISG)
Program, a part of their Energy
Commission's
Public Interest Energy Research
(PIER) Program. If successful,
this $90K grant would fund a
demonstration project of a full-size
Hydrovolts turbine in a Washington
irrigation canal. (The siting here
is permissible because it would
demonstrate a technology applicable
to California.)
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Interested in learning more
about Hydrovolts or more
broadly about renewable energy
technology and policy?
Both Burt and Chris are veterans
of technical and general
interest presentations to
audiences ranging from local
civic groups to international
technical conferences.
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Hydrovolts has identified more
than a dozen target market segments
of significant commercial potential.
While many of these are very
exciting the initial focus of
Hydrovolts is on only
one--irrigation canals.
Irrigation canals are an enormous
market for Hydrovolts.
There are 37 irrigation districts
in Washington, each of which
typically has 50-100 miles of main
canal with multiple side branches.
Each canal system could utilize up
to several hundred Hydrovolts
turbines.
California has 42 irrigation
districts, some of which dwarf those
in Washington both in miles of
canals and in the number of
Hydrovolts turbines that they could
deploy. Irrigation districts
generally have large capital budgets
which can be used to upgrade
facilities; the Imperial Valley
Irrigation District's capital budget
exceeds $1B per year.
Nationally, there are
approximately 500 irrigation
districts in the United States. Many
foreign countries also have
extensive canals and irrigation
systems.
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any of the old newsletters?
Contact us, and we'll send them
to you! |
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Greetings
from all of us at
Hydrovolts!
Got topics you'd like us
to cover in future
newsletters? Need
answers to questions
about what we're doing,
or about renewable
energy? Please
contact us; we'd
love to hear from you!
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Hydrovolts
Reaches Semi-final Round
of the Clean Tech Open
Hydrovolts was
selected as one
of 12
semi-finalists
in the
2009 Clean Tech
Open (CTO).
Hydrovolts will
next compete to
be one of 3
regional
finalists in the
Pacific
Northwest and,
if successful,
vie for the
grand prize in
the national
competition.
Regional
finalists each
win $50,000 in
cash and
services; the
national winner
receives a
package of cash
and services
worth $250,000.
The selection of
Hydrovolts from
among
56 entrants
was announced at
a gala event
Thursday evening
in the Puget
Sound Energy
auditorium in
Bellevue. "The
quality of
entries was so
high that we
feel any of
these 12
semi-finalists
could be the
regional, or
even national
winner," said
John Pierce,
co-chair of the
CTO Pacific
Northwest
chapter.
The selection
extends to four
Hydrovolt's
unbeaten string
in startup
competitions,
following first
place finishes
at the
NWEN First Look
Forum, the
ZINO Zenith
Award, and
the winning of
the
ZINO Green
Investment Fund.
Following the
announcement,
Hydrovolts CEO
Burt Hamner
briefly
addressed the
room, thanking
the judges for
recognizing the
company and
sharing our
enthusiasm "for
bringing
renewable water
power to places
where it has
never before
been possible."
The CTO also
emphasized
sustainability;
Hydrovolts has a
strong
triple bottom
line story
that came
through very
clearly. Noted
Burt: "Reaching
the semifinal
round is
recognition not
only for the
strength of our
unique
technology but
also for the
huge global
potential for
our business to
advance
sustainable
community
development."
Judging criteria
for the
competition
includes:
-
Technology
and/or idea
are feasible
-
Innovative
with highest
economic and
environmental/social
impact
- Strong
environmental
sustainability
- Solid
financial
and
technical
scale-up
plans within
a 5-year
horizon
-
Demonstrates
financial
sustainability
Hydrovolts COO
Chris Leyerle
was gratified by
the triumph:
"Going in to the
judging I
thought we had
made a very
strong case for
Hydrovolts. The
night of the
announcement,
however, there
were slides of
each entrant
showing
continuously on
monitors in the
room--the
competition was
formidable! It
was awesome to
be competing
against so many
impressive
companies, and
an absolute
thrill to be
selected for the
next round of
the
competition."
Hydrovolts and
the other 11
semi-finalists
will next
receive
mentoring and
coaching on all
aspects of the
business for the
next several
months, and also
attend a 3-day
intensive
"bootcamp" in
San Francisco. A
full business
plan and a
PowerPoint
presentation in
September will
be used to
select the three
regional
finalists on
October 15. The
national
competition in
San Francisco
will be at the
end of October.
The non-profit
Clean Tech Open
was founded in
2006. Its
mission is to
serve as an
innovation
catalyst,
providing the
infrastructure
and processes to
develop and
motivate
entrepreneurs
and early-stage
companies
creating clean,
environmentally
sustainable
technologies The
core of CTO is
an annual
business
competition,
supported by
expert
volunteers and
mentors, that
provides
entrepreneurs
with the crucial
business
training,
services and
insights they
need to go to
market
successfully.
CTO has awarded
more than $2.7M
in prizes,
assisted over
100 companies
raise more than
$120M in
external
funding, and has
spurred the
creation of
hundreds of
jobs. Fueled by
a network of
over 400
volunteers and
sponsors, CTO
unites the
public and
private sectors
in a shared
vision for
making America's
clean tech
sector a
thriving
economic engine.
84% of the 125
previous CTO
semi-finalists
from prior years
are still
operating
companies today,
with 42 patents
issued and
serving nearly
1000 customers.
Thanks again to
all our friends,
mentors and
supporters who
helped us
prepare for and
win this
prestigious
event!
Tech Flash blog
Seattle P-I blog
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Renewable
Energy Policy
Developments
On Friday the US House
of Representatives
passed the
American Clean Energy
and Security
("Waxman-Markey") bill,
HR 2454, "to create
clean energy jobs,
achieve energy
independence, reduce
global warming pollution
and transition to a
clean energy economy."
President Obama hailed
the vote for the
bill which "will finally
create a set of
incentives that will
spark a clean energy
transformation of our
economy." The bill is
enormous, which does not
make for easy reading,
and it faces a tough
road in the Senate.
However, if enacted, it
will both provide direct
support for Hydrovolt's
efforts and catalyze
broader economic
momentum behind clean
renewable energy
development and
deployment.
Meanwhile, on June 19
the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources
Committee passed
Senate Bill 923, the
Marine Renewable Energy
Promotion Act,
sponsored by Senator
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
It would provide for
$250M in grants
each year from
2010 through 2021 to
fund R&D,
commercialization, and
environmental assessment
for marine renewable
energy technologies. The
Act defines "marine
renewable energy" to
also include "free
flowing water in rivers,
lakes, man made
channels, and streams"
so the provisions of the
Act, if passed in its
current form, would
directly apply to
Hydrovolts' activities.
Please contact your
elected officials and
urge them to support and
strengthen these two
critically needed pieces
of legislation.
Finally, on June 24,
the US Department of
Energy (DOE) awarded
$24.3M to Washington's
State Energy Program,
part of the broader
funding stemming from
the
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009
(the "Stimulus Bill").
The funds will be
administered by the
Community Trade and
Economic Development
(CTED) office; the most
recent official
indications are that
these funds would be
used for small-scale
renewable energy
technology R&D and
demonstration
projects--a good match
to Hydrovolts' current
plans. An
additional $30M will be
awarded by DOE later as
the State successfully
implements its program.
At Hydrovolts, we
continue to monitor
public policy and grant
funding developments,
provide insight and
advice to elected
officials and program
administrators, and work
steadily on winning
grant funding to advance
our objectives consonant
with the public
interest.
We reamin optimistic
that we will be
successful in
competition for some of
these funds.
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Customer
Spotlight
Mining
Exploration
Some people
need
electrical
power in
remote areas
where no
electrical
grid exists
to deliver
centrally
produced
energy. They
need a
distributed
energy
generation
technology
which is
portable,
rugged,
works when
and where
they need
it, and is
cost-effective.
There are
many
examples of
this need,
including
remote
cabins and
lodges,
developing
world
villages,
island
communities
and military
field
operations,
amongst
others.
Another
example is
remote
resource
exploration,
such as for
mining.
Almost all
mining
operations
use quite a
bit of
water;
feasibility
of a
particular
mine site is
dependent in
part on the
availability
of a
reliable
water
supply,
generally
from a
natural
watercourse
such as a
river.
Consequently,
such sites
are
well-suited
for power
generation
using a
Hydrovolts
turbine.
The existing
solution in
almost all
cases is a
diesel
generator.
It has the
advantage of
providing
steady power
when and
where
needed, but
has several
serious
drawbacks,
including
smell and
noise, but
most
especially
cost. In
most remote
locations
the fuel
must be
brought in
by truck,
sometimes on
very bad
roads that
can take
days to
navigate. In
extreme
cases, fuel
must be
flown in by
helicopter.
As a result,
the
effective
cost of the
generated
electricity
can be
$1.00/kWh
and up--more
than 100
times that
from a
Hydrovolts
turbine!
Many
companies
engaged in
resource
exploration,
including
mining
companies,
are acutely
sensitive to
the needs
and values
of the
communities
in which
they
operate.
Commonly
such
companies
will build
infrastructure
(sometimes
as part of
their
operations)
which they
will leave
to community
ownership
upon project
completion.
According to
one
potential
Hydrovolts
customer,
such
infrastructure
satisfies
the "social
license"
companies
crave to
smooth their
operations
amongst
local
populations.
By creating
a "prideful
and positive
experience"
they gain
support of
communities,
reduce
conflict,
lowering
costs, and
increase
their
chances of a
successful
project.
Hydrovolts
turbines are
an excellent
choice for
mining
companies in
the
exploration
phase of
projects.
They reduce
costs during
operation,
and can
reduce
overall
capital
costs as
well; if
they are
left for
community
use at
project
completion
then the
mining
company may
be able to
defray the
capital cost
by creative
partnering
with NGOs or
even the
community
itself.
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Please
contact us to find
out more or get answers
to your questions. Want
to come see the
turbine? We'd
love to show you! And
please
forward this newsletter
on to others you know
who may have an interest
in the exciting business
we're building. |
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