Philip Freddolino wrote:The power that is obtained from any hydro installation is completely dependent on the flow and head available and is many times the cheapest per watt option compared to PV or wind. Even a small yield of 50 watts equals 50 x 24hrs =1.2 kwhs. If you have no head available but you have a large enough stream / river, you would get more power from a tethered prop style hydro unit then you would yield from any pump/storage/hydro scheme. There is just too much loss from energy conversion to make a pump/storage/hydro setup worthwhile. If your curious about hydro yields for different heads and flow , you can use the online calculator at www.powerspout.com
The basic formula for a boat: Does it displace more water by volume than the mass?
Same kind of thing with hydro power: the question is about mass and pressure.
The potential energy of a reservior is essentially flow x mass/friction.
