Sustainable hydropower

Conventional rotor-based hydropower systems define power output in terms of potential energy.

P=HQw/550 or (P=HQw/100) Where: P=power; Q=mass flow rate cfm (cms); and w=weight of water

Because power equals head times mass flow rate, increasing power means increasing head. The result: monumental dams that devastate riparian species and ecosystems, and force entire communities to relocate.

An alternative tactic, used in sailing and aviation physics, yields a new approach to environmentally sustainable hydropower, the Schneider Hydroengine^TM. Hydraulic power is defined in terms of the river's natural kinetic energy, and is calculated like aerodynamic power in terms of density, velocity, and area.

P=1/2ApV³; (P=0.5pV³A) Where: p=mass density; V=fluid velocity; A=fluid cross-section area

The design employs hydrofoils instead of turbines, in a series of faint dams (10 ft or lower) that emulate beaver-dam networks.

Schneider Engine Co., 331 W. FM 407, Justin, TX 76247, (817) 648-0308, e-mail: [email protected].