|
|
|
Hydrovolts ZINOpreneur Update
« Back to list
Sunday, December 06, 2009 | By: Hydrovolts
We are thrilled to announce that Hydrovolts was a finalist in two prestigious national competitions, the Clean Tech Open and Newpreneur of the Year, and received unprecedented validation by winning the 2009 Clean Tech Open National Sustainability Award.
|
Hydrovolts, Inc. Newsletter
|
|
| "Power from Water!" |
November 2009 |
|
|
The fully submersible Hydrovolts hydrokinetic turbine generates renewable energy from water power for industry, agriculture, utilities and global sustainable development, providing electricity in places never before possible.
The fully capitalized cost of electricity is cheaper than $0.02/kWh, a cost less than half that of all small-generation alternatives (hydro, wind, solar) providing a capital payback of less than 5 years.
The patent-pending turbine is complete, compact, modular, simple, safe and scalable, easy to install, operate and maintain, and uniquely drops in the water without dams, penstocks or poured concrete.
Hydrovolts turbines allow distributed and point-of-use generation or can generate revenue from net metering to the electrical grid.
|
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.
Contact us about speaking to your group.
|
|
Turbine News
The small prototype turbine is complete and has made power in a stream, towed behind a boat, and during tests on the benchtop in the lab.
Next week Hydrovolts will put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) to build the next prototype, dubbed the Alpha-1B. This turbine will be significantly larger, about 3x1x1 meters and, depending on water speed and final generator selection, should make 2kW or more of electricity.
The new turbine will be used primarily to demonstrate power production and initial feasibility to customers.
Qualified companies interested in responding to the RFP should contact Brian Peithman or call our office at 206-336-5560.
|
A recent study by the National Hydropower Association projects that the US hydropower industry will add 60,000MW of capacity by 2025, enough to power 17,000,000 homes. It will also create 400,000 new jobs.
"Hydropower offers tremendous potential for America to double its renewable energy production, provide reliable electricity for American families, and create thousands of new jobs," said NHA President Andrew Munro of Washington State's Grant County PUD.
Hydropower has significant impact on the United States economy, producing about 7% of the nation's electricity, more than any other renewable source. Here in Washington State we get almost 70% of our electricity from hydropower. US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu observed that hydropower offers "an incredible opportunity" to help solve simultaneously the nation's energy, economic and environmental needs.
|
|
About our mailing list
You have received this newsletter because you have given us your email address or you have received our newsletters in the past. We recognize your time is valuable and your privacy important. Clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email will allow you to quickly and permanently remove your email address from all future Hydrovolts emails like this one. We apologize for any inconvenience.
|
Links
More Hydrovolts info:
Want to look at any of the old newsletters? Contact us, and we'll send them to you!
|
|
|
|
Dear Cathi,
Greetings from all of us at Hydrovolts!
We are thrilled to announce that Hydrovolts was a finalist in two prestigious national competitions, the Clean Tech Open and Newpreneur of the Year, and received unprecedented validation by winning the 2009 Clean Tech Open National Sustainability Award. Such recognition is based on the strength of the Hydrovolts business plan, team, and entrepreneurial skills. We are honored and humbled to be judged so highly by panels composed of media, angel investors, venture capitalists and fellow entrepreneurs.
Following the signing of our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) this autumn, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has committed $50,000 to build, deploy and test a Hydrovolts Flipwing turbine. Work will begin immediately. Meanwhile, the US Navy has offered us a cooperative research and development agreement, which we expect to finalize soon. (More details on that next newsletter.) In February we'll do our first trade show, the Harvesting Clean Energy Conference in Washington's Tri-Cities area, the heart of canal country. More next month as well.
Burt presented Hydrovolts to the MIT Startup Showcase in connection with the MIT Venture Capital Conference while Chris updated the Northwest Energy Angels on the company's progress. While in Massachusetts, Burt followed the Concord River across the state investigating and photographing old mill sites that once had waterwheels and primitive turbines. Very few still have working equipment, but the water keeps flowing! There are thousands of good sites across New England for Hydrovolts turbines.
We've been asked several times how we've funded Hydrovolts. Thus far, we're entirely self-funded with about $65,000 from which we have built prototypes, filed patents, engaged customers, secured an office, advisors, and growing visibility. Recently, thanks to our competition wins and our first outside investor, we now have the funds to build our next turbine.
While our initial target market is irrigation districts and their canals, this month's Customer Spotlight looks at another man-made flow where Hydrovolts turbines can make power--sewage! Did you know? The US hydropower industry of which Hydrovolts is part is poised to grow substantially.
More and more people are interested in what we're doing at Hydrovolts. This newsletter now has greater than 2500 subscribers, more than doubling just in the past month. Thank you again to those of you who forward this to a friend. Want more timely news? Subscribe to our blog, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
As ever, we welcome your email with comments, questions, and ideas for future newsletter topics. Want to learn more about Hydrovolts and what we're doing? We can come speak to your group or meet over coffee. Want to come see the turbine? Contact us.
|
 Hydrovolts Wins National Sustainability Award
Hydrovolts, already a winner of the Sustainability Award in the Pacific Northwest Clean Tech Open in Seattle, and one of only twelve national finalists, won the first Clean Tech Open (CTO) National Sustainability Award November 17.
The Award recognizes Hydrovolts as first in sustainability from among nearly 300 contestants nationally and includes a prize package of $20,000 worth of software and services that will help Hydrovolts measure and improve its sustainability efforts.
Hydrovolts Co-founders Chris Leyerle & Burt Hamner with
the 2009 Clean Tech Open National Sustainability Award
The presentation of the Award came towards the end of an eventful day at San Francisco's Masonic Center that also included an exhibition by CTO finalist, semifinalist and alumni companies, demo presentations, videos from the entrants in the international ideas contest, keynote speakers, and much celebration of the growing success of the CTO.
The organizers and hundreds of volunteers of the CTO deserve recognition for their outstanding effort and the superb success in building the CTO from a California competition to a national one. They could use some help, too, for next year, so if you can, be a sponsor or volunteer, or make a donation.
Many people have helped Hydrovolts throughout the CTO process and without which winning this prestigious Award would not have been possible. We wish in particular to thank those that provided mentoring, feedback and ideas primarily on the sustainability parts of the business: Joshua Skov, Itzel Orozco, and Kiran Jethwa. Thank you all!
More details and pictures on our blog.
|
|
Newpreneur of the Year
Hydrovolts won a $5,000 prize as a national finalist for Newpreneur of the Year in a contest sponsored by Alibaba.com and Inc. Magazine. The grand prize winner was fellow Washington entrant Joel Smith and Forward Mobility, a maker of medical devices. Although Hydrovolts did not win one of the top prizes we were very pleased to make it all the way to the finals; the $5,000 prize will be a big help in the construction of a full-size version of the Flipwing turbine.
All of us at Hydrovolts would like to thank the thousands of you that voted for us on-line, and put up with our many email, Twitter and Facebook appeals for support. The voting was to select the finalists for the trip to San Francisco. Unfortunately, as some of you found, the voting system had some problems, so, in the end, Inc.com Publisher Whelan Mahoney made a great decision: to invite all the competing companies! We were ecstatic to go to the finals, and we really enjoyed meeting and talking with our fellow "newpreneurs" and keynote speaker Tom Peters.
Check out more details, pictures, and a video of Burt presenting to the judges on our blog.
|
Customer Spotlight
Hydrovolts turbines can generate power in man-made and natural watercourses of many kinds. Because of the ingenious cross-axis design of the Flipwing, they can also generate power even in flows that are not clean, or even free of effluvia--flows like those found in sewer and wastewater systems in nearly every community.
As is the case with any site suitable for hydropower, the flow must be natural, moving due to gravity rather than to pumping. Sewage facilities like Seattle's Brightwater would not likely be customers as they would have few, if any, stretches of sufficiently strong and free flow. However, there are many facilities with suitable flows. Plants and piping infrastructure are cheaper to operate where little pumping is needed so siting seeks this advantage.
Two sewer districts, one in Washington and one in New York, have inquired about purchase of Hydrovolts turbines.
|
|
As we enter the annual holiday season, we extend our best wishes to our readers, suppliers, service providers, advisors and friends. Thank you for your support!
|
|
|
|
|
