Revamping ACEP’s hydrokinetic testing capabilities
The ACEP marine energy team installed a new debris diverter system and buoy at the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site this summer.
November 26, 2025
A primary goal of ACEP’s marine energy team this summer was to make its hydrokinetic test site autonomous so that staff can perform long-duration testing of new technologies without being physically on site 24/7.
To this end, the team installed a number of upgrades to the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site, or TRTS.
The test site, about 60 miles southwest of Fairbanks in Nenana, is one of a few sites worldwide that offers in-river testing of kW-scale hydrokinetic turbines.
Its proximity to Fairbanks and position on a major Alaska river makes the TRTS an ideal place to eliminate risks from new technologies prior to deployment in a community. However, in the past, staffing availability has limited the number of hours available for testing.
To address that, the team first worked to make the test site’s debris resilience more robust so that it can withstand Interior Alaska’s harsh conditions. They replaced the old 500-gallon buoy that was anchoring the barge with a more rugged design. They also deployed a new debris diverter with a solar-powered buoyancy control system designed by ACEP intern Lucian Rodriguez.
The second step was to have a reliable and autonomous electric power system on the research barge deck to power the auxiliary equipment needed to support testing.
Debris strikes had taken a toll on the old buoy used at the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site.
Machinery for deployment and retrieval of the turbine, environmental and electrical data-acquisition systems and communications systems all require power. To accommodate this, the team set up a mini grid with a battery-inverter system, solar panels and a gasoline generator. The auto-start generator automatically recharges the batteries as a backup for the solar panels installed on the barge gantry.
The mini grid was powered on in early July and operated with minimal disruptions until the barge was removed from the river in October.
With the installation of surveillance cameras and high-speed internet, checking conditions at the site became as simple as logging onto a remote portal from the comfort of a team member’s home or office.
“Having alert notifications on our phone gave us the peace of mind to leave a turbine in the water overnight and on weekends,” said Luke Woodhouse, a research professional with the marine energy team.
Image from the downstream-facing surveillance camera shows the barge deck and turbine under test. The newly installed solar panels are visible on the left.
These upgrades ultimately supported an 11-day unattended hydrokinetic turbine test in August.
Next summer the hydrokinetic team will continue to build out this long-duration testing capability and work to implement new data streaming practices as well as SMS alarms and emergency stops.
This project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.