Natal Energy, launched by MIT-educated siblings, is deploying fish-safe turbines and other hydroelectric systems that mimic natural river conditions.
With novel, fish-safe turbines and other features designed to mimic natural river conditions, Natal Energy says such systems can bridge the gap between power plant efficiency and environmental sustainability. By retrofitting existing hydropower plants and developing new projects, Natal Energy believes it can energize the hydropower industry.
The Natal Energy founders were doing some modeling and discovered that they could achieve high efficiency in their power plant by using extremely rounded edges on the turbine blades instead of the sharp blades typically used in hydroelectric turbines. This insight led them to realize that if they didn’t need sharp blades, maybe they wouldn’t need complex new turbines.
Natal Energy developed turbines with thick blades that, according to third-party tests, allow safe passage of more than 99 percent of fish. Natel’s turbines also allow passage of significant river sediments and can be combined with structures that mimic the natural features of rivers, such as wood plugs, beaver dams and rock arches.
Natal Energy has already installed two versions of its latest turbine, which it calls a restoration hydro turbine, at existing plants in Maine and Oregon. The company hopes to deploy two more by the end of this year, including one in Europe, a key market for Natal Energy because of stricter environmental regulations for hydroelectric plants. Since installation, the first two turbines have converted more than 90 percent of the energy available in the water into energy on the turbines. This is comparable to the efficiency of conventional turbines.
Looking ahead, Natel sees an important role for its systems in boosting the hydropower industry, which is facing increased scrutiny and environmental regulation that could otherwise close many existing plants. Natal Energy has the potential to retrofit hydroelectric plants in the U.S. and Europe with a combined capacity of about 30 gigawatts, enough to power millions of homes.
