Moving water is our regions strongest energy resource and it can be tapped directly, without dams.
Drew Rokeby-Thomas has been experimenting with a different kind of turbine for more than a decade. It has no “blades”, instead it’s more like a twisted airplane wing that rotates at the same speed as the flow. Groups of these small turbines may produce significant power, safely and cost effectively.
We’d like to prove this technology in flows like Grohman Narrows near Nelson. If it can be done here, it opens the door for communities with no sustainable energy options to reach energy self sufficiency.
Small-scale, hydrokinetic turbines can circumvent such mega projects, while delivering a local clean energy solution that may be competitive in terms of dollars-per-watt.
For more information on the the Kootenay Hydrokinetic initiative, contact Drew Rokeby-Thomas, drewrokebythomas@gmail.com