"Scientists have discovered a new way of generating electricity using water, the first innovatory method for 200 years.

A team of Canadian researchers has found that an electrical current can be produced between the ends of a microscopic channel when a fluid flows through it.

The technique offers a potential source of clean, non-polluting electric power with a variety of possible uses, ranging from powering small electronic devices such as calculators or mobile phones to vast stations that can contribute to the national grid."

Since large water pressures are not needed, natural flows of water can be harnessed. These could include tidal water flows, underground aquifers, dammed water, drinking water currently being filtered by utilities companies to improve its clarity, and rain falling from roofs.