San Antonio Water System has agreed to terms with Lucid Energy to build the first demonstration site of the LucidPipe Power System in Texas. The LucidPipe Power System is a new in-pipe hydropower system that produces clean, low-cost, renewable energy from the flow of water in municipal water pipelines. The LucidPipe deployment will continue to build San Antonio's reputation among leaders in smart water management and increasing water and energy security.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) August 21, 2012

Lucid Energy, a provider of renewable energy systems and pioneer in the development of in-pipe hydropower, today announced that San Antonio Water System (SAWS) will be the site of the first LucidPipe™ Power System installation in Texas. The SAWS installation, which is slated for construction in early 2013, will provide a demonstration site around which Lucid Energy will bring together prospective customers, partners, academics and other industry leaders in the water and energy sectors to learn about in-pipe hydropower.

The LucidPipe Power System is a water-to-wire system that produces clean, low-cost renewable energy from fast-moving water inside of large-scale municipal, agricultural and industrial water pipelines and effluent streams. The new 60-kilowatt in-pipe hydropower system will include three LucidPipe spherical turbines inside of one section of 24” steel water pipe at SAWS. The LucidPipe installation at SAWS will be part of the Regional Carrizo Water Supply Project that will deliver up to 17,200 acre-feet of water per year from the Carrizo Aquifer to the city of San Antonio.

The LucidPipe Power System, which was developed in conjunction with Northwest Pipe Company, utilizes a patented, spherical, vertical axis turbine that recovers otherwise untapped energy in the form of excess head pressure in large, gravity-fed pipelines. One or more turbines can be installed inside sections of large-diameter (24” – 96”) steel water pipe to produce clean, reliable, low-cost electricity without affecting operations.

LucidPipe operates across a wide range of flow conditions, volumes and velocities with no interruption of water flow. In addition to generating baseload renewable energy, the system can also be used to help manage pressure and reduce wear on water infrastructure. The system is environmentally-friendly because it operates inside of pipelines, and, unlike many other renewable energy sources, the energy output from LucidPipe is not subject to weather conditions.

In 2009 the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Lucid Energy a $1 million phase 1 SBIR grant to field test the LucidPipe Power System. Riverside Public Utilities in California, where the technology was piloted in three phases over two years, is currently operating the first commercial installation of the system, which has been operational since January 2012.

Lucid Energy is working with innovative water utilities, academics and industry partners like CH2M Hill, Siemens, Honeywell and Johnson Controls to develop demonstration sites that will become Centers of Excellence for in-pipe hydropower in other parts of North America.

About Lucid Energy

Lucid Energy Inc. is a provider of renewable energy systems. Lucid Energy's patented LucidPipe™ Power System enables industrial, municipal and agricultural facilities to generate clean, reliable, low-cost electricity from their gravity-fed water pipelines and effluent streams.

For more information, please go to: http://www.lucidenergy.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/8/prweb9810189.htm