Hydro Turbines

Overview

Obermeyer Hydro designs and manufactures patented bulkheads and gates that incorporate arrays of compact, submersible turbine-generator sets.

These systems are designed to be installed in existing water-control structures, thereby eliminating the need for extensive new civil excavations or cofferdam construction — making hydropower development more accessible and cost-effective.

Key Features & Advantages

• Modular, compact turbine-generator sets that fit within existing gates or bulkheads, reducing new civil works.

• Suitable for low to medium heads (typical up to about 50 m head) and even very low head structures (heads of 1–4 m may be technically feasible depending on economics).

• Versatile application in flood-control reservoir outlet works, navigation locks & dams — turning otherwise “non-powered” water discharges into renewable power.

• Reduced geologic risk and lower cost because major excavations and large underground powerhouses aren’t required.

• Variable speed operation for hydropower plants with seasonally varying head conditions.

Applications & Use Cases

• Retrofit of existing dams/outlet works: Installing compact turbine sets in structures already built, unlocking latent hydropower potential.

• Low-head hydropower sites: Structures with modest head (3-12 m) where conventional hydropower may be uneconomic.

• Navigation dams & locks: Utilizing discharge flows that were not originally used for power generation.

• Flood-control reservoirs: Combines water-control and energy-generation functions in one system.

• Small to medium hydropower plants: From a few MW up to higher, depending on head and flow conditions.

Reference Projects