ORPC ALASKA, LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: ORPCproposes a project that will alter fossil fuel use and energy economics in remote off-

Description

ORPCproposes a project that will alter fossil fuel use and energy economics in remote off-grid river communities. The project will allow conversion of hydrokinetic river energy, a vast renewable resource that is underutilized, into an economical, reliable source of clean electricity for river communities. ORPC will accomplish this by optimizing the prototype RivGen & reg; Power System design for the lower speed river currents that are prevalent throughout the world. The proposed new design will also significantly improve the prototype system & #39;s overall efficiency, making it a viable alternative to fossil fuel generation in river communities.This project directly results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints. A distinguishing feature of ORPC & #39;s RivGen & reg; Power System is that it can be incorporated into isolated power grids that currently rely on diesel generators, which have a disproportionately high carbon output compared to other power generation systems. By harnessing river currents and delivering the power to community grids, the RivGen & reg; Power System offsets the use of diesel fuel and can allow the diesel generators to shut off entirely. Because the RivGen & reg; Power System uses no fossil fuels and produces no emissions, its use can greatly reduce a community & #39;s greenhouse gas emissions and overall carbon footprint. For example, when fully commercialized, the use of a single RivGen & reg; Power Systems to replace electricity generated using diesel fuel would result in the annual production of 190,000 kWh of electricity (utilizing resource data from Kvichak River at Igiugig, AK), and the yearly avoidance of 315,000 pounds (157.5 tons) of CO2 emissions per year. This is the equivalent of reducing oil consumption by 332 barrels annually.