FORSTER is deploying turbines with fish safety and other hydropower systems that mimic natural river conditions.
Through novel, fish safe turbines and other functions designed to mimic natural river conditions, FORSTER says this system can bridge the gap between power plant efficiency and environmental sustainability. FORSTER believes that it can inject vitality into the hydropower industry by upgrading existing hydropower stations and developing new projects.
When the founders of FORSTER did some modeling, they found that they could achieve the high efficiency of the power plant by using extremely smooth edges on the turbine blades, instead of the sharp blades usually used for hydropower turbines. This insight made them realize that if they did not need sharp blades, perhaps they would not need complex new turbines.
The turbine developed by FORSTER has thick blades, which allow more than 99% of fish to pass safely according to third-party tests. FORSTER’s turbines also allow important river sediments to pass through and can be combined with structures that mimic the natural features of the river, such as wooden plugs, beaver dams and rock arches.
FORSTER has installed two versions of the latest turbines in its existing plants in Maine and Oregon, which it calls restorative hydraulic turbines. The company hopes to deploy two more before the end of this year, including one in Europe. Because Europe has stricter environmental regulations on hydropower stations, Europe is a key market for FORESTER. Since installation, the first two turbines have converted more than 90% of the energy available in water into energy on the turbines. This is comparable to the efficiency of conventional turbines.
Looking forward to the future, FORSTER believes that its system can play an important role in promoting the hydropower industry, which is facing more and more reviews and environmental supervision, otherwise it may close many existing plants. FORSTER is likely to transform hydropower stations in the United States and Europe, with a total capacity of about 30 gigawatts, enough to power millions of homes.
Post time: Sep-30-2022
