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Remote Communities
Remote Communities
Over 700 million people worldwide live in remote communities with no access to traditional energy infrastructure, relying on diesel fuel to generate electricity. Diesel must be shipped, trucked, or flown in to these communities, resulting in electricity costs up to 15 times the cost of power from a traditional utility grid. This method of electricity generation is expensive and environmentally risky due to the potential for fuel spills during transit, delivery and storage, as well as exposure to harmful emissions.
Since 2013, ORPC has partnered with the Village of Igiugig, Alaska, to lower energy costs by utilizing renewable energy generated by the powerful Kvichak River. The Kvichak River is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon population, on which many villagers rely for their subsistence and livelihood.
In 2014, ORPC successfully built, deployed, and operated its RivGen
®
Power System, delivering electricity to Igiugig’s diesel microgrid. In 2015, ORPC re-installed and operated the RivGen
®
system in Igiugig to demonstrate its latest technology advancements and, in the process, reduced the community's diesel fuel use by one-third when the system was operating.
In 2019, the Igiugig Village Council was issued a 10-year pilot project license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct, operate and maintain the Igiugig Hydrokinetic Project. Igiugig is the first tribal entity in the U.S. to achieve this approval, moving the rural community closer to using diesel fuel for emergency-backup only
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Remote Communities
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News
Press Releases
04 Nov. 2019
Portland hydro-energy company gets $4 million grant to
01 Nov. 2019
Pingree Announces ORPC to Receive $3.8M for Renewable I
20 Aug. 2019
Path to paradise? Alaskan village hopes to replace foss
16 Aug. 2019
Energy Dept. Funding Helps Transform Alaskan River into
01 Aug. 2019
Federal Dollars Help Turn the Tide for Renewable Energy
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08 Nov. 2019
ORPC Secures Commitments for $7.5 million in Expansion
16 Jul. 2019
Alaskan Village, Maine Company and Alaska Governor Laun
04 Jun. 2019
ÉireComposites Completes Turbines for ORPC Commerc
07 May. 2019
ORPC and Warbird Capital LLC Join Forces to Offer Leasi
18 Apr. 2019
Maine Gov. Mills Leads Celebration of Commercial RivGen
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