Impact

Microturbines only use a small fraction of total river water to generate electricity. Taking 3-5% of the total flow volume has no negative impact on the river flow, therefore, potential issues such as the occurrence of sedimentation are not of concern.
Bentall Microturbine Developments are currently planning the assessment of microturbines’ capacity and capability for electricity generation in the River Clyde in Glasgow over a 12-month period, taking into account differences in flow rates over the four seasons.

By deploying not one but several microturbines down a singular river, energy collection will be much higher than the discharge volume measured in cubic metres per second.
Ex.: Collecting just 0.03 of a river’s discharge volume with 100 individual Microturbines increases energy net collectivity by 3 times.

A similar concept of “lots of little things adding up to enormous new power” was developed in the semiconductor industry concerning transistors invented in 1955 at Bell Labs in the USA. As they learnt how to increase transistor density in larger numbers the computing power grew exponentially. Now, we have smartphones with billions of these same transistors in tiny spaces, providing computing power unimaginable 30 years ago when mobile phones were just being launched.

This concept of re-using the same kinetic weight force as the river goes downstream is unique to Bentall Microturbine Developments’ planned roll-out, unlike wind and solar energy units. It also profits from utilising the free buoyancy provided by river water to float Microturbines, with no need for expensive, ancillary structures required to get stable energy, as is the case for offshore wind farms.