Gas pipeline pressure to generate electricity

The National Grid is piloting a new energy creation technology that harnesses the energy stored in high pressure gas pipes.

Natural gas has extremely high pressure when it is sourced from underground.

This pressure has to be reduced eight times before the gas is suitable for use in homes – a process that wastes huge amounts of latent energy.

The new technology uses a turbine to harness the energy created when the gas pressure is reduced, and this energy is used to generate electricity.

Two turbines are already being installed in London, with six more planned for the near future.

The first turbine will go live in 2010, providing around 20MW of electricity to homes in East London.

Like the electricity generating road surface mentioned here
this isn’t really a long term solution; the pressure of gas wouldn’t need reducing if it wasn’t being fed into homes for carbon intensive burning.

Nonetheless, it is creative solution that helps prevent unnecessary waste.