Abstract
Renewable resources, specifically hydrokinetic energy, if successfully harvested, have immense potential to help power remote Alaska communities located near rivers and could significantly reduce power costs. This project aims to investigate the implementation of a novel hydrokinetic energy conversion system to harvest riverine power. A permanent magnet synchronous generator is selected to be used for mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion within a low-speed range. The unregulated electric power output of the generator is rectified and filtered to produce smooth DC power. A current/speed-based maximum power point tracking technique is implemented to extract the maximum power available at the generator output under different water velocities and loading conditions. Field tests of the hydrokinetic energy conversion system demonstrated the validity and effectiveness of the system.