Leave it to the Swiss to lead ...

Leave it to the Swiss to lead the way by being one of the early adopters of the water vortex power plant. In Schöftland, Switzerland, Bertrand Piccard has taken power generation to a new level by implementing water vortex power plant technology.  The gravitational water vortex turbine is an ultra-low head turbine which can operate in a low head range of 0,7 to 2 m, which is often seen as too low for conventional hydro turbines, and has a similar yield to conventional hydroelectric turbines used for the production of electricity.  In the vortex power plant, water is introduced into a circular basin tangentially, creating a free vortex (Fig. 1) and energy is extracted from the free vortex by a turbine. The system operates as follows: River water is channelled at the bank of the river and conveyed to a circulation tank. The spring. Vortex Spring is a cold, freshwater spring that produces approximately 28 million US gallons (110,000 m 3) of water daily. The spring consists of a 200 ft (61 m) basin with sloping sides and a cave which links the spring to the Floridan aquifer. Water temperature is steady at 68 °F (20 °C) with no thermocline,...