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The New Technology Promises To Generate Savings And Convenience In Energy Collection In Mountainous Regions By Using The Hydroelectric Technique With The Use Of Trucks
Hydroelectric plants are undoubtedly the most “green” for producing clean and sustainable energy, compared to all other conventional energy sources. However, the environmental conditions of reservoirs currently almost make it impossible to install new plants of this type. Currently, there are already some alternatives that could replace the large reservoirs built in the past, such as water balloons, marine hydroelectric plants, submerged hydroelectric plants, and also run-of-the-river turbines. But, the idea of engineer Julian Hunt and his team to use electric trucks for transporting water may change this scenario in mountainous regions.
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International Project In Partnership With Brazilian Engineers May Be Another Solution For Hydroelectric Plants
Aiming for a much simpler and more suitable approach for mountainous regions, the use of renewable energies to pump water between reservoirs at different altitude levels in the mountains could be a solution.
During nighttime or when there are lighter winds, water descends through pipes from the higher reservoir to the lower one, generating electricity and ensuring a continuous power supply for the entire network. With this concept in mind, and now with a very curious innovation, Brazilian engineers from the Federal University of Espírito Santos, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and USP will participate in an international project that consists of creating a hydroelectric plant on an electric truck.
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The idea of engineer Julian Hunt and his team is to use electric trucks to transport water between the reservoirs located in mountainous regions, and thus, they have named this concept “electric truck hydroelectric plant.”
Get To Know The New Truck Hydro Plant Without The Use Of A Reservoir
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Evaluation of the Electric Truck Hydroelectric System in the Kaprun plant region, Austria, which generates electricity through pumping. [Image: Julian David Hunt et al. – 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123495] -
The empty truck goes up the mountain to collect the containers filled with water at the loading site, and descends the mountain generating electricity. The water is then unloaded at the unloading site. [Image: Julian David Hunt et al. – 10.1016/j.energy.2022.123495]
The new hydroelectric plant will use the existing road infrastructure to transport water in mountainous regions in containers without the need for a reservoir, managing to even take advantage of the regenerative brakes of the electric truck, which will be useful for converting the energy of the water into enough electricity to recharge the truck’s battery.
The electricity generated could be sold to the distribution grid or even used by the truck itself, helping to keep it active to transport more goods. This hydroelectric plant can also generate energy by combining solar and wind resources or even provide energy storage services for the grid.
After studies, it was found that the regions with the greatest potential are the Andes and the Himalayas, even though the mountainous regions of North America and Europe may also have their benefits.
Economy
According to data from the engineering team, this new technology would be an innovative and clean energy source, that would compete with other renewable sources, such as solar, wind, and conventional hydroelectric energy, as cost estimates revealed that the levelized cost of the Electric Truck Hydroelectric Plant would be between US$30 and US$100 per MWh, cheaper than conventional hydroelectric energy, which currently ranges from US$50-200 per MWh.
The engineering team also made a global estimate of the electric truck hydroelectric plant, where they concluded that this technology could generate about 1.2 PWh of electricity per year, equivalent to about 4% of the world’s energy consumption, based on data from the year 2019.
Credits: Technological Innovation
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