EnCurrent Pointe du Bois
(Manitoba)
CEATI has funded a project to move one step closer to the use of river kinetic turbines to generate
power. This emerging technology holds great promise to provide affordable equipment for distributed
generation. Kinetic river applications provide continuous power and require flow velocities that should
exceed 2 m/s. The project is located on the Winnipeg
River at Pointe du Bois in Manitoba Canada and involves
New Energy Corporation Inc., the University of Manitoba
and Manitoba Hydro. New Energy received support from
Natural Resources Canada’s CANMET and TEAM
programs in the development of the company’s products
and for the deployment at Pointe du Bois.
The Pointe du Bois site is managed by the
University of Manitoba and is located just upstream of a Manitoba Hydro generating facility. Dr. Eric
Bibeau, the NSERC/Manitoba Hydro Alternative Energy Industrial Chair, developed the site and installed
two anchor points up-stream of the existing dam in 2006 to support the installation of hydrokinetic
turbines.
In late October of 2007 New Energy was given a 6 week window of
opportunity to install a system at the site. In order to meet the timeline
it was decided to install a 5 kW system that was already assembled using
a pontoon boat that had been developed for testing. The pontoon boat,
which was equipped with a 225 HP outboard motor, was moored in
Sicamous BC, approximately 2000 km west of Pointe du Bois. It was not
possible to ship the boat through the mountains in one piece so it was decided to disassemble it for
shipping purposes. After cutting the pontoon in half with a plasma cutter it was shipped to Calgary
where it was re-assembled and reconfigured so that it would eventually support a 25 kW system and
transported to Pointe du Bois.
Installation of 5 kW EnCurrent Power
Generation System
The site installation of the 5 kW System began on
December 12, 2007. Installation presented difficulties
primarily due to the-35 temperatures. On several
instances it was thought that the installation would
have to be cancelled due to factors such as the pontoon

boat freezing to the shore or becoming stuck in the ice. Perseverance paid off, however, and the system
was moved into location downstream of the onsite pedestrian bridge and secured to the existing
anchors.
The 5 kW System operated through the winter and was removed in March of 2008 in preparation for
spring break-up. Initial operation identified that the power produced by the turbine was lower than
anticipated. Possible causes included turbulence, drive train losses due to the cold weather, and lower
than expected performance of the turbine rotor itself. The cause was eventually isolated to excessive
losses from the rotor support arms which were simply square edged steel plates, which were used to
minimize manufacturing costs. Performance was dramatically improved by using the same material and
profile as used for the aluminum hydrofoils. Operation over the winter season presented significant
challenges due to buildup of ice on the aluminum pontoons, requiring regular ice removal using ice picks
and hammers. This prompted New Energy to move
to plastic pontoons for subsequent installations.
The 5 kW System was re-deployed in June 2008 and
connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid on June 6th.
This represents only the second grid interconnect of a
hydrokinetic system in Canada, and the only currently
operating installation.
Installation of 25 kW EnCurrent
Power Generation System
Following the grid connect of the 5 kW System, a 25
kW System was deployed in the pontoon boat on June 16th and connected to the Manitoba Hydro grid
two days later. The 25 kW System was mounted in the pontoon boat using a cradle and pivot arms to
assist in deployment and anchoring of the system. The cradle allows for the turbine to be pivoted out of
the water so that the system can be deployed with the turbine installed in the pontoon boat.
Additionally, the anchor cables are attached to the
pivot arms which in effect anchor the turbine rather
than anchoring the pontoon boat.
Anchoring of the turbine reduces the floatation
required as there is no torque exerted at the front of
the pontoon boat. It also ensures that the turbine
remains relatively stable on the water flow
regardless of the effects on the boat due to surface
conditions.
The 5 kW System was redeployed in a smaller
floating structure using plastic pontoons and the same cradle assembly as utilized in the 25 kW System.
This structure is now available as a standard product from New Energy for the 5, 10 and 25 kW models.