Ruby Ruby

Next stop Ruby, AK. The renewable energy express train is in full swing. Ruby is due west of Fairbanks and is part of the interior's climate. Very cold temps in winter, and fairly hot sunny summers. 90F and higher this week (33C) and the sun just doesn't quit. It drops into dusk but still never darkness.

This 5kW hydrokinetic turbine installation has been a challenge. Heavy equipment, river barges, fork lifts, 1000 lb spools of electric transmission line, and the Yukon River current ready to sweep everything away. Our transmission cable spool was supposedly 900' long. We anchored it where we have the turbine anchor, and got to shore with 4 feet remaining... not what you want to see when the electric box is still 60 feet away! (Insert Bob Eucher voice - "Just a bit short of the plate.")

The turbine lives on an aluminum pontoon. We built an A-Frame bumper out of timbers to divert floating trees, logs, bodies, etc from going into the turbine blades and injuring it or knocking it offline. Yes the timber A-Frame bumper was kinda heavy to drag into the current. We got a barge to drop the anchors overboard in line in a strong current. At 4000 lbs apiece, even the reliable utility skiff was overmatched. It did handle the 1000 lb spool of electric cable just fine and sat nicely in its "site-engineered cradle", a.k.a. "let's see what we can find around to use to build something that can support 1000 lbs. and fits into this nook of the boat".

The people who live here are really interested in the turbine project and stop by to se if they can lend a hand all the time (in between fishing trips). The local tribal council sounds very forward thinking and has the community's attention as to why this is important. Good stuff from where I see it.