Innovation to tap green energy from canals

At a time when hydel projects are facing the wrath of religious leaders and environmentalists in India, a US-based company has begun trials to harness canals as a source of energy in Uttarakhand.

Engineers at DLZ Power Pvt Ltd, an Ohio-based company promoted by Vikram Vithal Rajadhyaksha, a non-resident Indian, have claimed they have successfully generated 25 Kw of power through a hydrokinetic turbine, which remains afloat with the help of pontoons, at the Chila canal near Rishikesh town.

With India being home to thousands of canals, engineers claim there may be vast potential to tap such energy.

The idea is to run the machine, weighing 4.5 tonne, with the help of velocity produced by the running water of a canal. At the Chila canal, the average velocity of water is two metre per second which is enough to generate power, said Nitin Singhal, project in charge at DLZ.

“We are currently holding trials at Chila canal and the results are positive. We have been able to generate 25 Kw of energy,” Singhal said.

In Chila canal alone, such floating turbines, which remain stationary with the help of anchors, can be placed at a distance of 100 metres from one another in order to generate more power. According to Singhal, an estimated five Mw of power can be produced here and the option looked very viable.

All machines are being imported from abroad and have been manufactured by Canada-based New Energy Corporation with which DLZ has a joint collaboration.

DLZ claims it is working in the hydropower sector having bagged scores of projects in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states in India.