Sustainability Update

Driving the corporate commitment to the sustainability strategy

Here are three streams to the sustainability strategy:
workplace, home, and community - reflecting ESB's large sphere of influence in terms of the many workplaces, and staff homes we have across many communities in Ireland. An aspect of the strategy is the support of research and education in the sustainability field in our communities. Research into sustainability projects will be vital in the coming years, as renewable energy sources expand from established technologies such as wind to emerging technologies in wave, tidal and hybrid technologies, such as wind assisted gas turbines.

One example of a project being carried out in renewable energy is that which is being undertaken by John Gallagher, of Fisheries Conservation.

As part of a mechanical engineering degree programme in Letterkenny Institute of Technology, John has designed and built a Pelpon Wheel pico-hydro turbine. The hydro turbines in Ireland have mostly been reaction turbines, suitable for rivers with low head but high flow, John's design is an example of an impulse turbine, which is suitable for the opposite condition; where there is high head but low flow. This may make it applicable for small scale renewables. Impulse hydro turbines are currently used in the Swiss Alps to capture small flows from large river falls.

The small scale model has a capacity of 2 W, and is 50% efficient in terms of conversion of energy from the power of the incoming jet into outgoing electrical energy. For simplicity, John has used a bicycle dynamo as the generator, and a 12V submersible pump for the jet. The geometry of the bucket was critical, and the solution to this involved an innovative use of a 3D printer to produce the bucket in plastic form.

If you know of any other innovative renewable research projects affiliated with ESB, please keep Fergus updated.