Atlantic Wind Test Site Inc.

Atlantic Wind Test Site Inc.

The Atlantic Wind Test Site Inc. (AWTS) is Canada's facility for
the testing and development of wind energy technology. Located at
North Cape, the northernmost tip of Prince Edward Island, the
facility has been a key participant in the Canadian wind energy
program since 1980. Jointly funded by Natural Resources Canada
and the Province of Prince Edward Island, AWTS has evolved to
meet the changing needs of the national wind energy program.
Currently, projects are selected with emphasis is on economic
viability, and most of today's projects concern wind energy
applications that have near term commercial potential.

AWTS' mandate includes:
testing of commercial and developmental wind energy
equipment and systems to determine performance, operational
characteristics and reliability;
collaborative projects, including demonstrations,
especially for Arctic locations;
the development and testing of wind resource monitoring
equipment and methodology;
participation in the development of national and
international standards for performance testing, safety and
electrical interconnections;
development of wind-diesel technology through test
programs, field demonstrations and collaboration with other
research groups;
providing wind energy expertise to development
organizations as well as to governments and industry
providing information on wind energy technology to the
public.


SERVICES AND CAPABILITIES

AWTS has, for the past several years, emphasized increased
collaborative work with industrial and research partners. This
direction will continue for the future since it has been an
effective method of combining the strengths of the AWTS
organization with the strengths of other groups. To such groups
AWTS provides a facility that is staffed year round by fully
qualified technical personnel who are capable of carrying out a
wide range of technical functions.

AWTS offers a range of services to a variety of clients:
Wind technology design evaluation and primary research
and development
Monitoring and testing of prototypes and commercially
available wind turbines
Control systems development, particularly for systems
which integrate wind turbines with other sources
Wind resource assessment and remote monitoring
Project planning and management
Engineering consulting

AWTS offers unbiased and confidential testing and developmental
work.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES
AWTS has a range of projects that are currently active

TESTING PROGRAMS
A variety of wind turbines have been tested over the years at
AWTS. Currently there are wind turbines at AWTS involved in a
range of testing and development programs.

R&D ACTIVITIES

In addition to testing wind turbines, AWTS is engaged in an
expanding program of collaborative R&D projects including:

Wind-Diesel Systems
The integration of fuel-saving wind turbines with diesel
generating sets is a significant innovation for remote community
electrical systems. AWTS has developed Canada's only wind-diesel
test bed into a world class facility. This facility has allowed
the AWTS to test and to develop different wind-diesel
configurations and control systems to achieve reliable and smooth
operation.

AWTS is also developing an advanced Wind-Diesel Integrated
Control System (WDICS) which will soon be commercially available.

Innovative Wind Technology
Innovative technology is also explored at AWTS. One current
project includes the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). This
design, pioneered in Canada over twenty years ago, has many key
advantages, such as easy access at ground level for maintenance
and no requirement for a yawing system to align the wind turbine
with the wind direction. A 'dynamically soft' design, using
non-rigid supports, has been computer modeled and fabricated at
AWTS and is now ready for testing.

Collaborative Research
AWTS recognizes the need for collaboration to speed the
development of the technology. AWTS has collaborated with a
number of utility, industry and academic partners in a variety of
research projects.

For instance, AWTS is presently collaborating with the University
of New Brunswick, several other regional universities and the
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to design and construct
a new research and development facility to enhance research into
renewable energy conversion and storage technologies. This
facility will be located at AWTS but will be used by interested
research personnel from university and other research
organizations.

AWTS has also collaborated with a New Brunswick firm to assist in
the design and testing of three innovative new inverters, ranging
in size from 10 kW to 100 kW, to efficiently convert variable
wind and solar power to stable utility grade electric power.

AWTS is a knowledge-based organization designed to help find
Canadians solutions to the energy-environment issue over the next
decade.

AWTS is committed to meet to the challenge of developing
sustainable and economic renewable energy technologies.

Company Details

Total Sales ($CDN): $200,000 - $500,000

Number of Employees: 5

Company Information

Carl Brothers
Title: Manager
Telephone: (902) 882-2746
Fax: (902) 882-2746
Email: Click Here

Karen Kinch
Title: Office Manager
Telephone: (902) 882-2746
Fax: (902) 882-3823
Email: Click Here

Services

Wind Power - Testing Services