This Fish-Friendly Whirlpool Turbine Can Power Up to 60 Homes

If you live near a river and want clean energy to power your home, we have great news for you. Belgian company Turbulent has created a fish-friendly whirlpool turbine that can be installed in only one week.

The innovative turbine can provide energy 24 hours a day for dozens of homes by being installed in most rivers and canals. It also delivers low-cost power as the generator just uses flowing water to produce energy.

It can effectively power up to 60 homes. The system has a long operating life and requires little maintenance as a self-cleaning screen captures large debris. Best of all, it can be remotely monitored.

Turbulent says its whirlpools are a much better option for areas that have rivers than solar energy. "While solar is a great way to supplement power needs with renewable energy, a small hydro plant is the clear choice wherever there is a viable river. It is cost-effective, reliable, and much more compact," writes Turbulent on its page.

The firm has already built one of its turbines for the Green School in Bali, Indonesia. The Green School wanted to power a world-class education entirely through renewable energy in the middle of the jungle.

This is where Tubelent's turbines came into play. They managed to generate power from small rivers without needing a big height difference and with no negative impact on their local environment. The Turbulent whirlpools have also proven to be highly resilient in extreme weather such as tropical storms.

Now Turbulent is building whirlpools around the world in Taiwan, the Philipines, Suriname, Portugal, and Chile. Past projects include whirlpools in France, Estonia, and Chile.

There is only one issue with the Turbulent whirlpool. It only works when water is free-flowing meaning if the water were to freeze the whirlpool would come to a halt. Luckily, none of the locations where the turbines are built have this problem.