KATAHDIN ENERGY WORKS..Microhydro electric.... Anaerobic Dig

SHARING THE WATER WITH A NATURALISTIC FISH WAY

SPILLWAY, PENSTOCK & FISH BREEDING POND

FISH SWIM OVER WEIR

WATER IS DRAWN INTO BURIED PENSTOCK

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SITE ASSESSMENTS ALWAYS COME FIRST!

The first step in using an alternative source of energy for your home, farm or business is to do a SITE ASSESSMENT of the potential of native renewables'--wind, solar, bio-mass, tidal, hydro; at your location; then assess the impact of any modality on the environment and your ability to 'profit' or save money as a result.

The initial site assessment currently costs only $135.

Depending on the modality additional technical studies may need to be performed, i.e. watershed impact studies, piping run diagrams, construction plans, R.O.I. analysis; financing studies, and permitting.

Forms for Hydro & Manure2Energy digesters available for review.

10 KW Vietnamese 'suction' low head generator

Low cost generators from Vietnam.

MICRO HYDRO & TIDAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

Maine was built around water mills using rivers, streams and unique tidal power weirs. In 1820, there were over 1,400 water mills in operation; in Vinalhaven a tidal mill powered America's largest granite finishing plant, a flour mill, and a wood working plant; and Thomas Jefferson signed the first electric generator patent for a GE generator built in Maine in 1820.

Maine's rich history of water-powered economic development is best found by reading Earl Taylor's book and watching the Maine Public Broadcasting Video on water mills.

Many of you want to build a small water-powered plant. We have two resources to consider:

Our own MICRO HYDRO 101 CD........a nice collection of how-to's for $10, via PAYPAL.

Or you can search UTUBE. I've clipped the best and many PowerPoints that show various installations....I like one done by an environmental education class in Oregon.

No matter what you decide to do, you will probably have to submit an application for a permit to DEP--contact Dana Paul Murch, at (207) 287-7784 for a blank application.

You will need help submitting an application that is acceptable to DEP. I can prepare your microhydro application and tailor your installation to meet critical concerns found in the application's 27 criteria for siting and construction.

SITE ASSESSMENTS are essential!!

You must have sufficient flow over time to select the 'best' energy extraction device for your waterway. There are a variety of techniques to measure head or pressure and flow in terms of gallons per second. With these two variables the theoretical WATTS can be calculated.

There is a wide variety of devices depending on your site's hydrology:

In stream waterwheels and variations of gorlof turbines built by The Waterwheel factory of N.C. and Lucid Technology of Indiana; and Propeller driven generators usually hung over tafrails on sail boats, i.e. Aquaire(AU)
Banki-Mitchell crossflow turbines as perfected by Ossberger(German)
Francis turbines as perfected by Leffler of Ohio and Cargo & Kraft of Norway.
'Suction Head' turbines like Vietnam's POWER PAL and New Brunswick's LH1000.
largely experimental devices like the Sunderman revolving vertical wheel and Canada's eNERGY vertical axis turbines.

Want to Improve your waterway to restore various fish populations?

My paper on Biosequestration and Micro Hydro delivered at the 2009 SMALL HYDRO conference in Vancouver, BC is a good starting point. Just write for a copy.

We have the latest technology to protect your aquatic environment including weirs that have integrated fishways, hydro screens, coandas, and invasive species filters.