What can a telecommunications company with extensive remote operations do to help address the significant challenges associated with off-grid energy systems? It gets more innovative. This is one of the premises of the Remote Energy Systems Research Program, a green energy research collaboration between Northwestel and Yukon College with funding from YCCIC.

The program will examine the potential of adapting a Stirling engine design for operations in the Yukon. Beginning with a commercially viable Stirling engine electrical generator, the partners will modify it for combined solar/diesel use in cold climates, test the redeveloped technology for use in powering its remote sites and then deploy and verify the resulting cold-climate solution. YCCIC and its partners believe that innovations in this area of research have profound implications for Northwestel and other Yukon industries.

Northwestel operates over a hundred remote communications stations throughout the Yukon, Northern B.C. and the Northwest Territories. These stations serve as the backbone of voice and data systems requiring reliable off-grid electrical power sources to support their operations. Small scale (3-5kW) diesel generators with battery storage power are currently the company’s preferred system at its remote facilities.

Because Northwestel’s installations are in mountainous and northern arctic environments with limited or no ground access, continuous operation and maintenance of these generators is very difficult and costly due to the significant costs of supplying these remote sites with fuel and replacement batteries. The company has been examining broader technology upgrades for their remote sites including possibly introducing entirely new energy infrastructure.

Invented by Robert Stirling in 1816, the Stirling engine is an external combustion engine that converts heat energy into mechanical power by using a differential in temperatures. This style of engine can use multiple heat sources (including solar, wood, diesel, etc) combined with a cold side to drive electric generators. Originally powered by extremely high temperature differentials (1000 C⁰+) for large scale power production, modern Stirlings can be operated at much lower differentials (~100 C⁰), producing power in the range perfect for Northwestel operations (3-5kW).

Since this engine is driven by temperature differential and not simply heat, the cold climate of the Yukon may be ideal for the power and efficiency of the Stirling configuration. In addition to fuel economy, Stirling engines offer other appealing advantages including high efficiency, quiet operation and compatibility with a variety of renewable energy sources including solar, geothermal and waste heat. Stirling engines are known to operate more efficiently in cold weather than internal combustion engines, and because of their flexibility they can generate heat and power in winter and serve as coolers in summer.

This year the research program will involve securing a post-doctoral researcher, installing a Stirling engine at the Yukon College test facility, and completing a battery of tests to experiment and document cold-climate efficiency and performance enhancements. An exciting aspect of this program is that an enhanced Stirling engine working model with solar and multi-fuel capacity at Yukon College will foster R&D by other businesses and researchers to experiment with its design and operation. Given the challenges associated with remote, northern and cold climate operations, as well as the increasing demand for green technologies, this type of energy could create significant potential in other sectors. Examples of other possible applications include field camps, off-grid housing and remote tourism operations.