ILLUMINATE THE THAMES COMPETITION

A REMARKABLE VISION TO ILLUMINATE 17 OF LONDON'S MAIN BRIDGES IN AN  INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION  STARTED IN JUNE 2016 BY THE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION..   THIS £20 MILLION  COMPETITION HAD ATTRACTED OVER THREE HUNDRED WORLD WIDE LIGHTING, ENGINEERING COMPANIES AND ARTISTS ETC WHO THEN FORMED 105 TEAMS TO MAKE PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS.
   FROM THIS LARGE NUMBER, SIX SHORT LISTED TEAMS WHERE SELECTED TO MAKE FURTHER DETAILED  PRESENTATIONS TO A SPECIAL BROAD RANGING  JURY AND THEIR SPECIALIZED ADVISERS IN NOVEMBER 2016.

   HALES WATER TURBINES LTD WAS APPROACHED BY ONE OF THE SHORT LISTED TEAMS TO ACT AS ENERGY CONSULTANTS AND DESIGN A SUITABLE TIDAL STREAM TURBINE USING THE PATENTED HALES TURBINE CONCEPT .
 THE PLAN WAS TO USE TWELVE TURBINE UNITS, EACH  WITH 50 KW OUTPUT, AMPLE TO SUPPLY THE BRIDGE LIGHTING NEEDS WITH THE SURPLUS BEING SENT TO THE NATIONAL GRID WHICH WOULD ALSO ACT THE POWER STORAGE DURING SLACK TIDE PERIODS.
   THESE TIDAL STREAM TURBINES, 2M X 4M IN SIZE WITH ADDED VENTURI SYSTEMS WOULD HAVE BEEN SITED INSIDE THE MANY BARGE/LIGHTERS IN THIS STRETCH OF THE THAMES, WELL AWAY FROM RIVER TRAFFIC.

   OF THE SIX SHORT  LISTED TEAMS , ONLY TWO TEAMS HAD ENERGY SYSTEMS THAT WOULD USE THE THAMES TIDAL POWER TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTALLY CLEAN AND LOCAL POWER, BUT SADLY, NEITHER OF THESE TEAMS WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THE COMPETITION. THE WINNING TEAM BEING CHOSEN ON DEC 7TH.

  ALSO MISSED, AN OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL OF CLEAN , CARBON FREE RENEWABLE ENERGY THAT WAS LOCAL TO THE CITY,   BUT THE JURY FELT THAT DEPLOYING TIDAL STREAM TURBINES WOULD BE A PROBLEM ALTHOUGH  THE HALES TURBINE UNITS ARE BENIGN SLOW ROTATION/HIGH TORQUE UNITS, MUCH SMALLER THAN THE BARGE/LIGHTERS SEEN MOORED IN THE SAME LOCATIONS.

  LIGHTING THE SEVENTEEN BRIDGES WILL BE A GREAT UPLIFT TO THE CITY OF LONDON AND WILL MAKE THE CITY BECOME A CITY OF LIGHT FOR THE FUTURE.     WE AT HALES WATER TURBINES LTD SUPPORT AND APPLAUD THIS WONDERFUL COMPETITION.