A water-driven turbine has an elongated endless conveyor with down and up streaming straightaways connected by travel-reversing turns. Paddles mounted on the conveyor present high resistance to waterflow on the downstream straightaway and low resistance to waterflow or the atmosphere on the upstream straightaway, the differential allowing the flow of water to continuously drive the conveyor which is connected to a power take-off shaft facilitating connection to a variety of energy-harnessing systems. The turbine can be towed, self-driven or mooring line manipulated to a flow site and is operable in unidirectional flows such as rivers and reversing flows such as tides at depths from surface to bottom. The paddles can be mounted or changed on shore, at the flow site and anywhere in between. The turbine is efficient in low and high velocity water flow, not easily damaged by floating debris, cavitation free and fish, mammal and environmentally friendly.

The invention relates to a floatable hydroelectric generator (10) for harvesting electrical energy from the flow (R) of water in a river. The generator assembly (10) includes a floatable chassis (12) to which are connected two spaced-apart rotational axles (18). An electrical generator (not shown) is mounted on the floatable chassis (12) and coupled to the rotational axles (18). A chain (20) is connected to the rotational axles (18) via pulley wheels (16). A plurality of water receptacles (22) are fixed to the chain (20), and each being orientated, when submerged, to present their major openings towards an oncoming waterflow direction (R). A plurality of minor openings (24) is provided through a wall of each water receptacle (22). A valve member in the form of a flexible flap (26) is located within each water receptacle (22) for controlling passage of water through said minor openings (24). The flexible flap (26) is adapted to selectively permit flow of water through the minor openings (24) into each water receptacle (22); but substantially prevent flow of water through said minor openings (24) out of each water receptacle (22). The generator assembly (10) of the present invention may be deployed at a desired location within a river—optionally as part of a larger array of such assemblies—to generate electricity on a substantially continuous basis.

A water-driven turbine has an elongated endless conveyor with down and up streaming straightaways connected by travel-reversing turns. Paddles mounted on the conveyor present high resistance to waterflow on the downstream straightaway and low resistance to waterflow or the atmosphere on the upstream straightaway, the differential allowing the flow of water to continuously drive the conveyor which is connected to a power take-off shaft facilitating connection to a variety of energy-harnessing systems. The turbine can be towed, self-driven or mooring line manipulated to a flow site and is operable in unidirectional flows such as rivers and reversing flows such as tides at depths from surface to bottom. The paddles can be mounted or changed on shore, at the flow site and anywhere in between. The turbine is efficient in low and high velocity water flow, not easily damaged by floating debris, cavitation free and fish, mammal and environmentally friendly.

A convective power generation device is described based on thermal convection and thermal input energy. The energy generation device operates by heating wax and oil by heat from a solar concentrator or geothermal energy; as the weight of the wax becomes liquid that is lighter than the oil, the liquid wax moves up through a pathway; when the liquid wax reaches the top of the pathway, the cooler wax falls towards collecting cups mounted to a continuous belt and forces the belt downward to rotate the belt; when a collector cup of wax reaches the bottom of belt rotation, the wax falls to a reservoir; and the rotation of the belt drives a gearbox, which drives a generator to produce electric power. The convective power generation device has been shown to have higher energy conversion efficiency than photovoltaics.

A water-driven turbine has an elongated endless conveyor with down and up streaming straightaways connected by travel-reversing turns. Paddles mounted on the conveyor present high resistance to waterflow on the downstream straightaway and low resistance to waterflow or the atmosphere on the upstream straightaway, the differential allowing the flow of water to continuously drive the conveyor which is connected to a power take-off shaft facilitating connection to a variety of energy-harnessing systems. The turbine can be towed, self-driven or mooring line manipulated to a flow site and is operable in unidirectional flows such as rivers and reversing flows such as tides at depths from surface to bottom. The paddles can be mounted or changed on shore, at the flow site and anywhere in between. The turbine is efficient in low and high velocity water flow, not easily damaged by floating debris, cavitation free and fish, mammal and environmentally friendly.

A subsea long-distance power-transmission system comprises an electrically driven pumping station for producing a flow of pressurised working fluid and an electricity generating station having an electrical generator coupled to a fluid-powered machine. A supply duct extends across the seabed between the pumping station and the generating station, that duct being arranged to convey the flow of working fluid from the pumping station to power the machine. Electric power is supplied to the pumping station from an electric power source, such as a national power grid, and is supplied from the generator to an electric power consumer far distant from the power source, such as a subsea oil and gas installation.

Disclosed is a water turbine including an endless chain with buckets and two floats disposed on either side of the chain, the chain driving electricity generators.

A water-driven turbine has an elongated endless conveyor with down and up streaming straightaways connected by travel-reversing turns. Paddles mounted on the conveyor present high resistance to waterflow on the downstream straightaway and low resistance to waterflow or the atmosphere on the upstream straightaway, the differential allowing the flow of water to continuously drive the conveyor which is connected to a power take-off shaft facilitating connection to a variety of energy-harnessing systems. The turbine can be towed, self-driven or mooring line manipulated to a flow site and is operable in unidirectional flows such as rivers and reversing flows such as tides at depths from surface to bottom. The paddles can be mounted or changed on shore, at the flow site and anywhere in between. The turbine is efficient in low and high velocity water flow, not easily damaged by floating debris, cavitation free and fish, mammal and environmentally friendly.

An electrical generating apparatus has a structure with a weighted base with a first and a second vertical tube enclosure spaced apart, a turbine having an axis, a length and a plurality of buckets facing in a direction substantially tangent to an outer edge of the circular shape, and generators in the vertical tube enclosures driven by shafts of the turbine through walls of the tube enclosures, wherein, with the apparatus stationary on a seafloor on the weighted base, both wave action and tidal currents turn the turbine that drives the generators.

A hydropower generator and a fluid-driven propulsion drive are provided. The hydropower generator includes a frame, a roller attached to the frame, a generator operatively connected to the roller, such that rotation of the roller powers the generator, and an endless belt extending from and operatively engaged with the roller. The endless belt has a proximal end engaged with the roller for rotation thereof, and a plurality of pockets extending from a main surface of the endless belt for receiving a flow of fluid thereby moving the endless belt relative to the frame and driving rotation of the roller, and where each of the plurality of pockets includes an opening facing towards the roller about one of the major sides of the endless belt.