manoj

Bangalore motorists could unknowingly light up a whole street from now on. If the findings of the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) are translated into action in a few months, energy tapped from moving vehicles will power streetlights.

After generating electricity using animals, KREDL has come up with a way to extract energy by tapping into mechanical movement. Every time vehicles roll on a specially fixed strip across the road fitted with pedals, made of metal device, compressed air will generate energy. This is a simple process, says B Shivalingaiah, managing director, KREDL.

A sudden decrease in traffic flow or varying speeds of vehicles will not affect the system. As long as the compressed air is constantly supplied, the turbine will derive energy. “However, constant flow of traffic is essential, which is not a problem on many roads in the city,’’ he said.

Another important component is a battery to store the generated power, to be use when required. KREDL claims it can generate about 10 KW of electricity for every busy city road; enough to provide streetlights. With city roads always packed with traffic, almost all roads are potential sources of electricity.

“The concept needs some fine tuning and financial support to bring it on to the road. It could also be used on busy highways also,’’ Shivalingaiah said. Traffic police are also hopeful of using the energy for signal lights. “With all roads in the East division set to become one-ways, the project seems to be very useful. In fact, one-ways are beneficial for the project as all vehicles would move in a single direction. Moreover, signal lights can also be operated using this energy,’’ DCP East M A Saleem said.

HOW IT WORKS

• A strip of about 2-3 inches in height with two wheels on both sides is fixed across the road.
• The entire stretch of the strip, which varies from road to road, will have pedals which provide the friction needed to move the wheels.
• Continuous movement of wheels due to passing vehicles generates compressed air, which is transferred to a turbine linked to a generator.
• Electricity is produced through mechanical movement and is stored in a battery Generated power can light up a whole street and signal lights can also use the power. Nearly 10 KW power can be generated.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Bangalore Edition)
Date Of Publish: 06-Apr-07

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