Floating Waterwheels for Green Power: A Review of Eco-Friendly Hydrokinetic Energy

Abstract

As the world shifts toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, floating waterwheel systems are gaining attention for their ability to generate electricity from flowing water in an environmentally friendly way. These systems make use of river and stream currents to produce power without the need for dams or major infrastructure, making them ideal for rural and offgrid areas. This review looks at how floating waterwheels work, the different designs available, and how they’ve improved over time. It also examines their benefits such as being low-cost, easy to deploy, and having minimal environmental impact while acknowledging challenges like seasonal water flow changes and maintenance issues. With continued research and development, floating waterwheels could play a key role in the future of decentralized and sustainable energy production.

Introduction

The urgent need for clean and sustainable energy sources has highlighted the potential of water-based energy systems, particularly floating waterwheels, as an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional hydropower. Floating waterwheels harness kinetic energy from flowing rivers without requiring large dams or infrastructure, minimizing environmental disruption and supporting energy access in remote areas.

This review paper systematically analyzes recent developments in floating waterwheel technology, focusing on their design, environmental benefits, operational challenges, and applications. Key advantages include portability, adaptability to moderate river flows, and low installation costs. Challenges involve seasonal flow variability, debris management, and optimizing efficiency in low-flow conditions. Research efforts are exploring design improvements and hybrid systems combining solar or energy storage to enhance reliability.

Hydropower remains a major contributor to global renewable energy, and floating waterwheel systems could expand small-scale hydropower’s reach, especially for rural electrification. The paper evaluates the environmental and economic impacts of these systems and highlights their role in sustainable energy transitions.

Floating waterwheel power generators consist of floating, corrosion-resistant structures with specially designed blades that convert river flow into electricity. They are easy to deploy, require minimal infrastructure, and offer a greener alternative to conventional turbines by avoiding ecosystem disruption. With efficient design features and low maintenance needs, floating waterwheels present a promising solution for decentralized, renewable energy generation.

Conclusion

Floating waterwheel systems present a promising and eco-friendly solution for generating renewable energy from flowing water sources such as rivers and canals. Their simple design, minimal environmental impact, and adaptability to various site conditions make them particularly suitable for decentralized power generation, especially in rural and off-grid communities. Unlike conventional hydropower plants, these systems do not require large-scale infrastructure or disrupt natural water flow, offering a more sustainable alternative for small-scale energy needs. Through this review, it is evident that while floating waterwheels offer several benefits including low cost, ease of deployment, and environmental compatibility they also face certain technical and operational challenges. Issues such as variable water flow, debris interference, and efficiency limitations need to be addressed through continued research and design optimization. Nevertheless, with advancements in materials, turbine design, and hybrid energy integration, floating waterwheels have the potential to play a vital role in the global transition toward clean and distributed energy systems. Future efforts should focus on improving performance, developing region-specific models, and creating supportive policy frameworks to encourage wider adoption of this sustainable technology

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Albin C J. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.