清晰能源Lucid Energy一家位於波特蘭的能源公司，想出了一個跟城市地下水管有關的主意，在水管裡面裝上小型渦輪馬達，把水的動能轉換成電力來傳送能源。
Lucid Energy, a Portland-based energy company, has come up with a brilliant idea to harness electricity from the water that flows through a city’s pipes. Small turbines are installed into the pipes which send the energy collected from the flowing water into a power generator.
清晰能源的總裁Gregg Semler說，"要找到能夠不影響生態環境的能源是非常難得的，但這是在水管裡面，所以沒有魚或者是瀕臨絕種的生物會受到影響。這讓人很興奮。
“It’s pretty rare to find a new source of energy where there’s no environmental impact. But this is inside a pipe, so no fish or endangered species are impacted. That’s what’s exciting,” Gregg Semler, CEO of Lucid Energy, said in a statement.
"我們有工程在河濱縣，加州。在那裏我們用這個來提供街燈晚上的能源，白天電費很貴的時候，他們可以用來刪減部分花費。
清晰能源的新能源水管，最近剛再波特蘭完工，目前正為城市裡面許多公共設是提供電力，這比許多替代能源都要有效率，因為他不受天氣限制，整天都可以使用。
“We have a project in Riverside, California, where they’re using it to power streetlights at night. During the day, when electricity prices are high, they can use it to offset some of their operating costs,” Semler says.
Lucid’s new power-generating pipes have recently been installed in Portland, where they are powering many different public spaces throughout the city. This is even more efficient than many other renewable forms of energy because these pipes can harness electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, in any weather.
“We made electrical infrastructure really smart over the last 20 to 25 years, but the same hasn’t happened in water. They didn’t really know that the pipe burst until somebody from UCLA called. Our pipe can get indicators like pressure, a leading indicator for whether a pipe is leaking or not. So before it bursts and before we waste all the water, there are onboard information systems that water agencies can get to more precisely manage their infrastructure,” Semler said.
Sensors in the pipe can even monitor the quality of the water to ensure that it is safe to drink.
Semler說"在離發電廠比較遠的區域，這個技術可以有更多的應用。
在城市以外的區域，不需要有電力網支援，你可以直接用這個能源系統，做到有效的管理，確保我們有安全乾淨的水資源。當然也可以幫住讓水資源妥善應用。
Semler said that this technology could be even more useful in remote areas that are farther away from central power grids.
“It’s a great source of remote power. So in places outside the city that don’t have an electrical grid, you’re able to use the system to generate energy. There’s a lot of energy in going into making sure we have safe clean drinking water. Our focus is really on helping water become more sustainable,” he said.
出處:http://themindunleashed.org/2015/02/portland-just-installed-water-pipes-generate-electricity.html
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.