The wind turbines that are part of Medicine Hat College's Micro Grid are pictured on October 7 - Photo by Charles Lefebvre

By Charles Lefebvre

Renewable energy

More testing needed for college wind turbines

Oct 7, 2019 | 4:29 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — They’re the most eye-catching part of a renewable energy project on the Medicine Hat College campus.

A pair of vertical axis wind turbines have been standing tall near the parking lot of the Medicine Hat College Cultural Centre, part of the college’s micro grid project, which went online this summer.

In addition to the turbines, the micro grid includes a solar power canopy and two electric vehicle chargers, which are operational.

However, the turbines have largely sat still since being installed.

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Tracy Stroud, manager of business development at the college says the wind turbines generated energy in the first energy validation test in July, but more testing needs to be completed before the turbines can run full-time.

Stroud says there is no timeline for when the wind turbines will be fully operational.

“The tests can take anywhere from six to 10 months,” she said. “We cannot just let them turn on, we have to wait until there is a low wind day, and then gather that data from the first test, and the company will adjust, and make the tweaks that are necessary, so we can do another test. It’s a staged testing process.”

Stroud described the testing process.

“Basically, we provide a safe environment to let it spin, and the spinning of the turbine generates some power,” she said. “We have a battery inside the turbines. So, basically, does it spin just like a normal turbine? Does it produce power? We can validate that. Now, the tests need to be prolonged for how long we’re letting it spin.”

The turbines are the first of their kind in Canada, and developed by Bluenergy Solarwind Canada. A date for the next test has not been set.

The micro grid project was first announced in 2017. In 2018, the federal government provided $526,000 for the project, with another $215,000 coming from the province’s Community and Regional Economic Support program.

Stroud says the grid has lots of learning opportunities for students in multiple programs.

“(There are opportunities) from an electrical perspective, for electrician training, but also for IT students for getting the data and putting sensors on that system to pull raw data,” she said. “Even from our environmental sciences programs, there’s opportunities to learn about wind speeds, and solar, all of that comes into play.”

When fully operational, Stroud says the micro grid will be able to generate enough electricity to power at least 18 homes.