Right on - the 5kW hydrokinetic turbine in Ruby, AK is now online and cranking out watts. It was a lot of work to get it in the strongest part of the current, anchor it from being washed away by the current, create a non-intrusive deflection device to prevent a tree or log from knocking it out, and create a way to do all this on a large scale next year for bigger turbines.
Why hydrokinetic? The hydrokinetic device works with the current in a stream or river. You don't hurt fish. You don't need a dam to run it. The downside is that is exposed to debris floating downstream so you have to protect it. The bigger the turbine, the harder it is to put it in fast current. However with some determination, planning, sweat and perhaps occasional harsh language, it'll go!
It is cranking at a steady 1000 watts and the river is at its lowest right now. It will crank a lot of power before ice comes in and requires removal for the winter.
Photo above: The first run of transmission cable came up a bit short, I jumped in to land it with just 3 feet or so left at the bitter end, and we still had about 70' to get to the junction box. The current tried to take it away and we had a belly instead of a straight run. Not what you want, but the third time it went in, we figured out the technique, using bags of rocks, a 5 gallon bucket as a fair lead / bollard, lot's of bags of sand, reliable and trusty aluminum work boat, and some good teamwork to get it done and not lose anyone overboard in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment