Small Hydropower Solutions for Northern Remote Communities

In Ontario, the bulk of electricity is generated in the south close to the major population centres and transmission lines do not extend far into the North. This results in many off-grid communities north of the Great Lakes that rely on diesel generators to produce electricity. This region of Northern Ontario is host to many rivers that all flow north through the boreal forest into James Bay or Hudson Bay. For this project, a case study is being conducted of one of those rivers, the Albany River, to explore whether regions of the river are capable of supplying hydropower to meet all of a nearby off-grid community’s energy needs.
The theoretical contributions of this research project involve rethinking how small-scale hydropower is used in the landscape of Canadian energy: changing the limiting mindset of an intermittent grid-connected power source to the more sustainable reality as an off-grid continuous source of electricity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Warren Mabee

Student:

Partner:

Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Queen's University

Program: