Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

In the context of current greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and climate change mitigation goals, windenergy has received increasing attention worldwide, with technologies developed and used globally. Tomaintain the industry growth, innovative technologies must keep evolving, focusing on improving reliability,increasing capacity factors, and reducing costs. However, despite the rapid evolution of wind technology,high-performance system parts such as sensors and controllers are still flawed and lack selection. GagnonRenewable Resources Inc. (GRR herein) has been unable to source a controller that fits the needs of their newwind turbine, and thus, the company aims to develop a new innovative controller that will meet theirrequirements. Therefore, the objective of the new partnership between Collège Boréal and GRR is to conduct aproduct development and proof of concept study of a new innovative wind turbine controller. If the study issuccessful, GRR will have a new cutting-edge device to carry forward their new wind turbine system. This newsystem will contribute to the economic development of the company and will allow them to approach clientsand present them with clean energy options for their electricity needs. Through an experiential applied researchand learning setting, students participating in the project will gain new knowledge of wind turbine design andthe electrical signals and digital algorithms required in their controllers while under the supervision of aCollège Boréal professor.