ADVANTAGES & USES RIBBON DRIVE Mechanicals > LOW-HEAD HYDROELECTRIC  POWER  -   water-to-wire  distributed no fuel transportation or storage more energy is captured from flowing water green, clean, renewable carbon-neutral / nonpolluting low cost injection molding, relatively simple design fabricate from light weight polymer or composite quiet less or no cavitation, diminished surface erosion and maintenance  flexibility to locate in shallow or deep channels self-orienting in the water current electricity produced at Villanova University Dept. of Mechanical Engineering advanced studies now at Cooper Union University HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION:          low head hydro [ 1 to 30 meters] activated by flowing water current or wave action water-to-wire, on-site distributed generation placement; sell extra to the grid save on utility costs--deploy in water outflow from municipal waste water treatment plants electrify [retrofit] some of the nearly 78,000 non-electrified dams in the USA install in water conduits from reservoirs to cities auxiliary electric power, scalable for small or large applications-- boats/ships stopped or at anchor   remote monitoring - pipelines, seismic, weather in the drains of factories or tall office buildings, or channeling frequent rainfall. self-sustaining electrical power in rural or remote areas for: --farms, homes, igloos, research sites --buoys in the ocean or littorals --"wave farms". 3-D animation and explanation of the Hydropower Generation Apparatus. POWER GENERATION:  Increased capture of stream - tide - wave kinetic energy during hydroelectric power generation, even under conditions of varying flow of water. Water--renewable, non-polluting.    Efficient energy capture through sequential, varying coils.  One moving part.   Staged start-up, keeps rotating even when water flow slows.  Self-orienting in currents of river / tide / ocean. The Ribbon Drive Power Generation Apparatus spins in the oppositie direction compared to the Propulsion System and Method.  Energy conversion is the reverse:  from linear kinetic energy of incoming water, to rotational energy to electrical energy generation.  Each subsequent coil captures more of the axial linear energy of the water stream, increasing the efficiency of the apparatus.  Water is sequentially decelerated from gradual coil to steep coil. Half-scale polymer prototypes were built with a rapid-prototyping machine in the Villanova University Center for Engineering Research.   The Departments of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering conducted tests which produced electricity in low flow [20 gal./min.], low head conditions [from 8 to 3 feet--low-- heads of water.  Designs were improved.  Further experiments and design improvements will be conducted in 2006 at Cooper Union University in New York. Read about us in the June 29, 2008 edition of The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/29hydronj.html Making power generation more ecologically friendly:   helping live fish by pumping them upstream around obstacles.  Inquiries are invited. Go to www.fluidmotive.com for further information.  With on-site testing under approved test circumstances, the Ribbon Drive Pump peripheral design could benefit thousands of hydropower projects.  Worth investigating as a power company or as environmentally-concerned citizens?  Please call or write. Maybe even fish. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2 movies on this page are excerpts produced by Custom Video, Conshohocken, PA. Opti-Thrust [R] and Diminu-Cav [R] are registered trademarks. HydroCoil Power, Inc.  1359 Arbordale Rd., 3rd Floor, Wynnewood, PA 19041           hydrocoilpower.inc@att.net tel:  877-790-7972        fax:  610-896-3919