Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (May 06/01) - The NWT Power Corporation is about to launch an alternative-energy demonstration project.

A photovoltaic array, which generates electricity when exposed to sunlight, will be set up on the roof of the NTPC's head office in Hay River.

Project leader Greg Haist likens an array of photovoltaic cells to what is used in a solar-powered calculator.

The $25,000 project will allow the Power Corp. to see how the array operates, collect information, and determine if it has any applications in the North. It will also test reliability, analyse daily and seasonal variations, and judge whether a solar addition could complement a conventional power plant.

"That's what we're trying to prove with this project," explains Peter Watt, the NTPC's public relations officer.

"We're going to collect data here for a long time," adds Haist, noting the array will have a lifespan of about 15 years.

Photovoltaic arrays have recently become more efficient and the price has decreased, although they are still relatively expensive.

Haist says the array, which will be a metre high and five metres feet long, should be installed by the end of June at the latest.

The energy produced by the array -- about 1,208 kilowatt-hours per year -- will be used by the NTPC building. However, that power will be only less than one per cent of the building's power requirements.

Watt notes that an average house uses about 8,000 kW-h of power a year.

As for the future potential of photovoltaic arrays, he says it is hard to say, noting that technology has changed drastically over the last decade. "Ten years from now, who knows?" he says. "There's certainly a lot of effort being put into alternative technology, and we're part of that effort."

Results will be passed on to NTPC customers. "So they will have some knowledge of this new technology."