Innovative Wind Turbine Design for Canada's Far North Communities
The northern and arctic areas of Canada contain a number of widely-dispersed communities with fewer than 1000 residents. Almost all of these communities have their own microgrids with electric power predominantly supplied by diesel generators.
The patented RidgeBlade wind turbine is a horizontal axis wind turbine of 2 kW output. Its lightweight design, minimal installation and maintenance requirements, and no need for a mast installation are features of the system that make it well suited for extreme climatic conditions in northern and southern latitudes.
The presentation will address design modifications to the RidgeBlade wind turbine to allow for deployment and operation in the environmental conditions of Canada's Far North. Modifications for extreme cold temperature operations and techniques and concepts to mitigate ice accretion on wind turbine blades will be explored.
Speaker:
Gordon M. McAlary, MSc.Eng., P.Eng.
Director of Engineering
The Power Collective
Gordon McAlary has spent over 30 years working on the research, development and application of advanced energy systems. These systems have included fuel cells, advanced gas turbine recuperators, photovoltaic and wind turbine technologies. Mr. McAlary has also worked at university and college institutions where he was instrumental in leading successful industry collaborative development projects.
As the Director of Engineering of The Power Collective, Mr. McAlary responsibilities include managing the technical development and improvement of the RidgeBlade wind turbine system. He is also the Technical Project Leader for a Government of Canada project with The Power Collective. This project involves the demonstration and performance evaluation of a number of hybrid photovoltaic and RidgeBlade wind turbine generator systems for a military airbase microgrid application.
Mr. McAlary received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from Northeastern University (USA) and Queen's University (Canada). He is licensed as a Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario Canada.
Director of Engineering
The Power Collective
Gordon McAlary has spent over 30 years working on the research, development and application of advanced energy systems. These systems have included fuel cells, advanced gas turbine recuperators, photovoltaic and wind turbine technologies. Mr. McAlary has also worked at university and college institutions where he was instrumental in leading successful industry collaborative development projects.
As the Director of Engineering of The Power Collective, Mr. McAlary responsibilities include managing the technical development and improvement of the RidgeBlade wind turbine system. He is also the Technical Project Leader for a Government of Canada project with The Power Collective. This project involves the demonstration and performance evaluation of a number of hybrid photovoltaic and RidgeBlade wind turbine generator systems for a military airbase microgrid application.
Mr. McAlary received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from Northeastern University (USA) and Queen's University (Canada). He is licensed as a Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario Canada.