KSB brings river turbines on stream
30 Sep 2010
St. Goar, Germany – Near the German town of St. Goar on the river Rhine, KSB AG has put two river turbines into operation. These convert the energy of the river water into electric power and feed that into the power supply system – without blocking or diverting the water flow.
Following the operation of the two prototype turbines anchored to the river bed downstream from St. Goar, KSB now wants to prepare the newly developed power generators for commercial use.
“We believe in a type of power supply that aims at economic effectiveness, reliability of supply and ecological compatibility all at once,” said Prof. Dr. Dieter-Heinz Hellmann, a KSB board member.
Hellmann added that KSB’s development of the river turbine offered a new means of generating power within the scope of “small hydropower” that is not only clean but also capable of providing base load.
In Germany, hydropower is the second most important regenerative energy, only to be surpassed by wind power.
KSB believes that the hydropower share offers potential for further growth. In Germany alone, one could potentially generate hydropower in the range of 6.8 TWh per year - without cross-structures that require major changes to the natural landscape.
The German government supports power stations of this type with a total output of less than 500 kW by paying a feed-in compensation in the amount of 12.67 eurocents per kWh.
However, KSB said it also believes there is a market for “small hydropower” internationally, for example in China, India or Russia, where the problem of supplying rural areas with electricity calls for creative solutions.
