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d e c e m b e r / j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 57 alTErNaTIvE e n e r G y TwingTec designs innovative remote power system by Ellsworth Dickson A nd now, for something completely different… Noting that obtaining electrical power in remote locations such as mines is expensive, Corey Houle, CTO and Co-Founder of Swiss-based TwingTec AG, and his team have designed a unique power system to complement conventional diesel power. The TT100 is a fully autonomous, con- tainerized, mobile wind energy system that is a tethered aircraft that operates up to 300 metres above the ground, allowing for efficient energy harvesting even in low to moderate wind speeds. The entire sys- tem neatly fits into a 20-foot long shipping container for easy transport. The system is the culmination of over five years of R&D in leading academic and research institu- tions in Switzerland. "We currently have a proof of concept prototype which has been used to demon- strate all operational modes of the system: launching, autonomous power production and landing," said Houle in an interview. "This system is now being upgraded and optimized to increase its reliability and power output. Our prototype has a power output of approximately 5 kW, which will be scaled up to the 50-100 kW range for a first product." Houle explained that the output from the TwingPower system can be integrated into a diesel powered grid to generate fuel savings of approximately 1,000 litres per kW per year (in a good wind site) and dis- place 240 tons of CO 2 per year. Both the twing (tethered wing) and ground station can be manufactured from fairly standard components. The twing is essentially a large drone so the technology to make it fly is now largely available through the fast growing commercial UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) market. The ground station is an electric winching system which can be built from proven industrial components. With the aircraft pulling on the tether lines, the winch is quickly spun to turn a genera- tor in two phases – power generation and then retraction. "The TT100 (100 kW output power) weighs approximately five tons which could be delivered to a work site by a large helicopter," said Houle. "A smaller unit (50 kW) could be developed specifically for helicopter serviced applications with a lower weight and footprint." Initial setup, commissioning and annual maintenance are performed by a service engineer. Day to day operations are fully automated, with any required mainte- nance performed by local technicians. For short term applications, siting can be performed based on CFD stud- ies ( Computational Fluid Dynamics) combined with local climate models. This service would be offered by TwingTec and local partners. Initial systems will be manufactured in Switzerland and Western Europe. In the medium term, ground sta- tion manufacturing may move to Eastern Europe or Asia to minimize costs. Houle said initial annual quantities will be some tens of units. "In the medium term we see the market for hundreds of units per year. Our first goal is to setup a number of pilot projects in key markets to validate the commercial feasibility of the technology. These projects should com- mence in 2017." "We are looking for customers, partners and investors to help us deploy a number of pilot systems in 2017," said Houle. n A flying TwingTec prototype pulls on its tethers to spin a ground-based winch and generator to provide electrical power. Photos courtesy TwingTec AG.