Energyfish: turbines fluvials en eixam per generar electricitat

The world's first approved swan power plant has gone online on the river Rhine. The goal is to harness the stream current of the Rhine to drive 124 turbines. And there are already plans to build such power plants in other cities as well. The entire system provides base load power which means it produces electricity constantly. And at 8 cents per kilowatt hour, the electricity price is a strong competitor to solar and wind energy rates. In this video, you will learn how swan power plants work, how much electricity they produce and just how much potential this technology holds. And with that, welcome to the German Science Guy, I'm Dr. Jakob Potom and in Germany, we say loss gains. Globally, 15% of electricity comes from hydropower and much more could be possible. A study estimates the potential of hydropower is around 5.4 to petawatt hours per year. But, and this is very important, this figure refers only to the potential from flowing water bodies, meaning rivers. And this already excludes locations that are ecologically problematic

and economically unsustainable. And that's pretty amazing because to put it in perspective, this could cover nearly a fifth of the world's electricity demand. This is where new technology from the company Energy Minor comes into play. It plans to build swan power plants on rivers. In fact, such power plants are already in operation. We will get to that in a moment, let's first take a look at what swan power plants are and how they work. Ultimately, a swan power plant consists of a large number of smaller turbines. The company calls these turbines energy fishes. A power plant is so to speak a swarm of energy fish, simply a swarm of many turbines. Each of these energy fishes works in principle like a wind turbine, only in water. The principle behind this is a benign effect. The rotor blades are flat on the underside and curved on the top. As a result, the water flows fast on the top and on the bottom.

This creates negative pressure on the top and positive pressure on the bottom. And this generates a force that pushes the rotor blade upward causing the rotor to spin. Basically, the kinetic energy of the water is converted into rotational energy. The energy fishes are anchored in the riverbed and then suspended in the river current. This causes the rotor to spin and a generator converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy. The electricity is then transmitted to shore via a cable. Important to note at this point, the law of conservation of energy naturally applies to the energy fish as well. This means that the river's flow velocity decreases. This was investigated in a study on the energy fish, among other things. This will be important again later, so keep that in mind for now. So an energy fish weighs about 80 kilograms and measures 2.8 by 2.4 by 1.4 meters. For the system to work, it needs a water depth of at least 1 meter and a flow velocity

of at least 1 meter per second. To achieve maximum output, the river must have a flow velocity of 2.5 meters per second. The smart monitoring system tracks power production, flow velocity, and the relative position of the energy fish. However, such mild functions are not supposed to cure in the first place. In the event of ice or high water, the energy fish automatically sings and continues to operate underwater. On the Rhine near San Gour or city in Germany, the company Energy Miner is already operating the world's first approved swan power plant. So far, three such turbines are in operation, but more are on the way. There are plans for a total of 124 turbines in this section of the Rhine. In fact, the turbines are expected to start feeding electricity into the grid soon. According to the company, 100 such energy fishes are expected to produce

1.5 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. That is enough to power 432 households. There are also several other locations in Germany where there are pilot plans, where they are testing the effects on the ecosystem. And if there are no concerns after the research phase, the company will increase the number of turbines here in Germany, but also abroad. One of the reasons there is not a problem is that there are special grills installed in front of the turbines to prevent large fish from swimming through them. Small fish on the other hand can simply swim through because the turbines rotate relatively slowly. Even if a collision were to occur, the company claims the fish are simply pushed slightly to the side. A study has so far been unable to demonstrate any negative consequences for fish populations, although we will need to take a closer look more critical at this study later. However, energy fish also offer other environmental benefits.

For example, they do not require dams as in the case with other hydro power plants, and reportedly do not require concrete, for example for foundations. However, the company does not specify exactly how the units are anchored in the riverbed. Furthermore, the turbines are designed not to alter the river's structure. Furthermore, there is one more benefit. The turbines are designed to last well over 10 years, and thanks to the materials used, they are virtually self-cleaning. For example, algae growth does not occur. In addition, 90% of the turbines are submerged and with that almost invisible. And there's also another interesting part, according to energy miner, these turbines should also be not a problem for water sports. The turbines can simply be pushed down or to the side. Okay, and a final advantage is actually the costs. Something I usually never say with new innovations. According to the Ministry of Environment from the State, electricity from the new plants

cost as much as electricity from wind or solar power. The figure mentioned is approximately 8 cents per kilowatt hour. For comparison, large PV plants produce electricity for around 4 to 7 cents per kilowatt hour, while rooftop systems tend to cost around 6 to 14 cents. Either way, the price of electricity from energy fish would at least be comparable. Unlike for the vortex, the system can also produce base load electricity, meaning they generate power continuously. And because the power plant consists of many small turbines, it is possible to flexibly control how much electricity is produced and adapt the plant to different locations. Okay, this sounds pretty great and as you can see, I'm super amazed. Also because this technology is from Germany, which makes me hyped. But as with any technology, there are of course a few points we need to take a closer, more critical look. As always, we'll do this in the big hurdle segment. You know the drill for my videos, but first click subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you don't miss any more videos. Okay, the big hurdle is actually pretty small today. The biggest problem is probably the study

that we looked at the effects on fish. It's important to note, the study compares theoretical models with lab studies, which were then compared with field studies but from other hydroelectric power plants. However, this is not a direct field study of the plants. While it does provide very good insights, real world conditions are significantly more complex than laboratory conditions, and the exciting thing is that these studies often reveal unforeseen factors. Whether fish encounter the turbines, for example, depends on where the fish prefer to be in the water, and also on how large the cross-sectional area of the turbines is compared to the cross-sectional area of the river. While actually this was taken into account in the study, in my view, it still shows just how complex this is and that there might be something at play here that we simply haven't considered. And one point I still find relevant, and which I haven't found addressed, is the impact of turbine noise. And so far, there is simply no data on that. Okay, so this is my biggest hurdle, but I would say it might be more of a minor issue. There's another thing that I have to mention in the big hurdle that I already mentioned before.

The turbine alters the flow velocity of the rivers, and that's already an intervention into the ecosystem. But that said, we have to be honest here. The ecological consequences must be weighed against the benefits, and they're likely to be quite minor, at least if you don't use too many turbines. So monitoring would still have to show just how significant the impacts are. And another important point is the technology's potential. In principle, the potential of hydroelectric power plants, at least in countries like Germany, but also the US and many Western countries, is already considered nearly exhausted. But the energy fish could also open up entirely new areas for energy generation. And globally, there's still great potential as well. But the flow velocity of the rivers has to be right too. The Elbe, one of the biggest rivers in Germany, for example, has an average velocity of around 0.83 meters per second. That wouldn't be enough for the energy fish, which needs around 1 meter per second. But, and that is very important, that's just the average. In some sections of the river, the speed is significantly higher. But, of course, the turbines must not abstract shipping either, so you can see it's not so easy to answer

just how great the potential of this technology is. And I have one more hurdle, namely the increase in dry spots. It could reduce energy output, or even make it completely impossible. We've seen this with nuclear power plants, for example, in France, that couldn't run because it was so dry that the rivers had not enough water. Nevertheless, I think today's big hurdle is more of a small hurdle, because it's an exciting and truly economically interesting way to generate electricity constantly. There are many indications that the environmental impact is very small, and even if the technology can only be used at relatively few locations, it would still be a cost-effective way to supply electricity in those places. I will keep you updated, of course, but feel free to leave a comment below about what you think of the technology, and whether you might even be from a place where they are planning to install them. I'm really curious to hear your thoughts, and as always, thank you so much for watching. In Germany, we say Auf Wiedersehen, which means goodbye, and if you want to, here are more videos for my channel, and if you like to subscribe, you really help me. So, Auf Wiedersehen, take care.