Sundermann Low-head Water Turbine



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Costs

1.  Production Costs

These are based on fabrication shop estimates from preliminary designs and the known production cost of the prototype.

  Size of Unit 
kW
 Manufacturing Costs
$
   Installation Cost 
$
 Installed Cost of Unit
$
1
 5,000
 5,000
 10,000
2
 8,000
 7,000
 15,000
5
 15,000
 10,000
 25,000
10
 20,000
 16,000
 36,000

If manufactured overseas, these could be considerably reduced.

The  installation costs include transportation to the site and installation on prepared foundations
or, alternatively, on a tethered floating platform.

2.  Generation Costs

These estimates are for channel or river operation, with a typical stream flow velocity of 1.8 M/sec.
It is assumed the unit would operate continuously, at the rated output, 8,000 hours per year.
The annual expense of operation, including capital servicing cost and other charges, including maintenance,
has been taken as 40 percent of the installed cost - i.e. total cost of manufacture and installation.
The estimated generation costs for various sized units are as follows

      Rated Output
kW
 Generation Costs
c/kWh
 Sundermann Water Turbine
1
 50
2
 38
5
 25
10
 18

These costs compare favourably with generation costs from current renewable energy technology
and existing conventional power generation from fossil fuels.
These costs could be less with a battery of units, and more favourable locations with higher water velocities
- the output of the turbine increases as the cube of the stream velocity.