CANADA

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

KEY R&D INSTITUTIONS AND RELEVANT R&D PROJECTS
The Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Centre (CHTTC) in Manitoba is operating, using its dedicated infrastructure on the Winnipeg River to test river current technologies. Since September 2014, 7 turbines, supplied by 4 technology developers, have been tested at the site. CHTTC will work towards facilitating the deployment of systems in rivers, and developing the required expertise for all aspects of these projects. These activities will allow rural communities to benefit from hydrokinetic river resources to help serve their energy needs.

Interest in wave energy in Canada continues to focus on the West Coast Wave Initiative (WCWI) out of University of Victoria’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic). The WCWI has developed a high resolution wave model of the British Columbia coast that was validated against the wave energy data for BC over the past 11 years. The model can forecast wave conditions up to 48 hrs into the future. Hourly power production estimates for future wave energy converter farms off the BC coast, created by combining the detailed wave resource and device performance characteristics, are then simulated into the BC Hydro electrical grid. This allows for the identification of wave energy converter farm locations which maximise utilization of the produced power. With a suite of data buoys gathering new wave data (www.uvic.ca/research/projects/wcwi/research/buoy-information/index.php), a new target is to develop the ability to generate high resolution forecasts of the energy output from wave farms, an essential input to system operators.