The present invention is a reversible pump-turbine installation position in a vertical shaft instead of in a conventional underground powerhouse or deep concrete powerhouse. The required plant cavitation coefficient may be achieved by simply boring a vertical shaft to the required depth rather than routing the water flow to and from a deeply buried powerhouse. A pneumatically controlled pressure relief valve may be incorporated into this invention.

The present invention is a reversible pump-turbine installation position in a vertical shaft instead of in a conventional underground powerhouse or deep concrete powerhouse. The required plant cavitation coefficient may be achieved by simply boring a vertical shaft to the required depth rather than routing the water flow to and from a deeply buried powerhouse. A pneumatically controlled pressure relief valve may be incorporated into this invention.

An underwater ducted hydroelectric power generation system is provided, including a ducted U-shaped pipe, a floating installation platform, a lifting pipe, a ducted coreless hydroelectric generator and a ducted coreless water transfer pump. The ducted U-shaped pipe is arranged underwater. The floating installation platform is configured to fix the ducted U-shaped pipe. A lower end of the lifting pipe is fixed on an underwater ground, and an upper end of the lifting pipe is slidably connected to the floating installation platform. The ducted coreless hydroelectric generator is fixedly provided in a water inlet pipe of the ducted U-shaped pipe. The ducted coreless water transfer pump is fixedly provided in the ducted U-shaped pipe.

A cable winch arrangement (1) which includes at least one cable drum (2), which is mounted rotatably about a drum axis (3), for winding up and/or unwinding at least one cable (30-37), and a supporting structure (20), and a spindle drive (14) for displacing the cable drum (2) relative to the supporting structure (20), wherein the spindle drive (14) has a spindle (16) extending along a spindle axis (15), and a cable run-off point (6) of the at least one cable (30-37), at which the cable (30-37) runs tangentially onto and/or out from the cable drum (2), is at least substantially positionally fixed with respect to the supporting structure (20), and the spindle axis (15) is arranged coaxially with respect to the drum axis (3) of the cable drum (2).

A cable winch arrangement (1) which includes at least one cable drum (2), which is mounted rotatably about a drum axis (3), for winding up and/or unwinding at least one cable (30-37), and a supporting structure (20), and a spindle drive (14) for displacing the cable drum (2) relative to the supporting structure (20), wherein the spindle drive (14) has a spindle (16) extending along a spindle axis (15), and a cable run-off point (6) of the at least one cable (30-37), at which the cable (30-37) runs tangentially onto and/or out from the cable drum (2), is at least substantially positionally fixed with respect to the supporting structure (20), and the spindle axis (15) is arranged coaxially with respect to the drum axis (3) of the cable drum (2).

A method for the preliminary use of a partially constructed lower reservoir for an underwater pumped-storage power plant is disclosed, wherein a partially constructed lower reservoir is provided which is located in a dry but flooded ground depression, and which, when the dry ground depression is flooded, can be operated in such a way that electrical energy is generated when water is admitted into the lower reservoir from the flooded ground depression and electrical energy is stored when water is pumped out of the lower reservoir into the flooded ground depression, wherein the partially constructed lower reservoir is connected to a preliminary upper reservoir via a penstock.

A method for the preliminary use of a partially constructed lower reservoir for an underwater pumped-storage power plant is disclosed, wherein a partially constructed lower reservoir is provided which is located in a dry but flooded ground depression, and which, when the dry ground depression is flooded, can be operated in such a way that electrical energy is generated when water is admitted into the lower reservoir from the flooded ground depression and electrical energy is stored when water is pumped out of the lower reservoir into the flooded ground depression, wherein the partially constructed lower reservoir is connected to a preliminary upper reservoir via a penstock.

A system for generating hydrokinetic power from a subcritical channel is disclosed. The system comprises a power channel diverted from the subcritical channel for generating hydrokinetic power by changing one more flow parameters of water, wherein the power channel includes an intake section, one or more slope section, one or more power section and a recovery section, an intake spillway at the intake section of power channel, connecting the subcritical channel with the power channel for enhancing the velocity of water, wherein the intake spillway is designed based on rate of discharge of water to be drawn from the subcritical channel and an array of turbines located in the power channel for generating power using the diverted water from the subcritical channel, wherein the number of turbines are based on the length of the power channel.

A system for monitoring a physical environmental property having non-stationary heteroscedastic noise is disclosed. A processor receives physical environmental measurement data, and constructs a combined input and output noise levels matrix containing output noise terms associated with the physical environmental property and input noise terms associated with the at least one independent variable. Using the combined input and output noise levels matrix, the processor constructs a main Gaussian Processes (GP) model for the physical environmental property and its non-stationary heteroscedastic noise. The processor generates and co-operates with the output device to perceptibly output a predictive probabilistic representation of the environmental property, using the main GP model. The predictive probabilistic representation includes a respective range of possible values of the physical environmental property for each respective value of the independent variable(s), the range reflecting both the input noise terms and the output noise terms.

A system for monitoring a physical environmental property having non-stationary heteroscedastic noise is disclosed. A processor receives physical environmental measurement data, and constructs a combined input and output noise levels matrix containing output noise terms associated with the physical environmental property and input noise terms associated with the at least one independent variable. Using the combined input and output noise levels matrix, the processor constructs a main Gaussian Processes (GP) model for the physical environmental property and its non-stationary heteroscedastic noise. The processor generates and co-operates with the output device to perceptibly output a predictive probabilistic representation of the environmental property, using the main GP model. The predictive probabilistic representation includes a respective range of possible values of the physical environmental property for each respective value of the independent variable(s), the range reflecting both the input noise terms and the output noise terms.