ORPC has started the RivGen device set up on the ground in Igiugig Village, Alaska.
The RivGen device will generate clean, predictable, renewable power from the Kvichak River, and send it to the remote community’s microgrid, offsetting its diesel fuel use by 50%.
Earlier this month U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski welcomed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval of the project in Alaska.
The Igiugig Village Council is the first tribal entity in the United States to achieve this approval.
FERC approval was achieved through the agency’s pilot license process, established to encourage development of innovative hydrokinetic technology.
Furthermore, ÉireComposites completed the turbines for ORPC’s RivGen system in the beginning of June.
This first commercial system will be installed in the Kvichak River at Igiugig this summer.