New turbine that generates electricity from river currents being tested near Pinawa, Manitoba.

A team of engineers is in Manitoba testing potentially game-changing hardware for small, remote communities.

The RivGen power system generates emission-free electricity from river currents, and its first test site in Canada is set to be near the Seven Sisters Generating Station near Pinawa, Manitoba.

Engineers arrived about a week ago and installed the turbine, pushing it into the Winnipeg River on Thursday. Over the weekend, the system will be moved upstream and installed on the Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Center mooring system at the University of Manitoba.

“It’s a hydrokinetic turbine, so it’s like a windmill underwater. So the idea is that the whole system floats down to a river. And then we sink it to the bottom, and the water that flows spins the turbine and creates electricity,” said Ryan Tyler, chief engineer for commercial systems with Ocean Renewable Energy Company.

The turbine is flooded with water and sinks to the bottom of the water basin. During recovery, the turbine is pumped full of air and returns to the surface.

“We’ve been working on this for about four years to set up the supply chain and interest from various governments, agencies and communities and finally to come here to the CHTTC,” said the company’s CEO, Alexandre Paris.

Engineers say the device, which can drastically reduce diesel consumption and connects directly to existing grids using smart grid technology, could produce enough to power a small village.

A few communities in northern Manitoba are not connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid, so they must rely on local diesel generation.

Paris said there are about 300 remote communities across Canada that rely on diesel, and most of them live near a good river or tidal site.

He did not talk about the cost of the power system itself, noting only that a significant amount of private investment was used to prepare the test site.

Paris, however, estimated that the cost of generating electricity with RivGen is 40 to 60 cents per kilowatt hour, while fossil fuels often cost around $1 per kWh. He says the electrical system is competitive and saves a lot of money for the community.

Economic and Environmental Benefits of RivGen

A few RivGen systems have been deployed in the small village of Igiugig, Alaska, located on the Aleutian Peninsula, approximately 250 kilometers southwest of Anchorage.

The company’s website touts the program as the oldest marine energy project in all of the Americas. It says it produces 100% renewable electricity that can be supplied for up to 275 days without diesel, while eliminating noise and reducing environmental risk.

“It was actually a big focus of the facility to try and do the environmental monitoring and really assess the potential impact and so far there have been no signs of any fatalities or injuries. “, said Tyler.

“We don’t see any impact on the environment.”

Paris says the company has worked to improve the economic and environmental conditions of Iguigig residents. He hopes to do the same with communities in Canada, including in Manitoba, although he said no formal agreement has been reached.

“Hydro offers very challenging conditions in the winter, varied flow conditions as well, so it’s a great place for us to test some aspects of our device with the University of Manitoba, but also to be able to demonstrate how it works. our technology and start engaging with indigenous communities who would like to adopt this technology,” he said.

Interaction and communication with remote communities is equally important.

“A few days ago we were very fortunate to have an elder from the Berens River community come to bless the water and bless the river and tell us about the unique relationship the community has with the river,” said Paris.

Eric Bibeau, professor of mechanical engineering at U de M, is the director of the Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Centre. He says he doesn’t expect a freezing winter in Manitoba to cause any problems with RivGen’s testing in the Winnipeg River for the next six to 12 months.

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He specializes in the production of diesel in indigenous communities and he thinks it is important to develop turbines for those who are remote.

“So what we’re looking for in these microgrid applications is a turbine that’s going to survive winter. Most of the turbines we see around the world won’t survive winter,” Bibeau said. . “We sank them here in the winter, they’ll take ice and they’ll go into the water and they’ll sink.

“This one will be fine. We won’t have any problems in the winter.”

And he believes RivGen’s technology will seed commercialization in Canada and other parts of the world, though it will likely require federal funding and greater collaboration with First Nations.

System that generates electricity from river currents being tested in Manitoba

The Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Center near Pinawa will soon begin testing a new type of turbine that developers hope could provide electricity to remote communities.