Testing a turbine to help remote communities harness river energy

September 19, 2026

Many rural communities in Alaska rely on diesel fuel that must be flown or barged in at great expense. Hydrokinetic energy — generated by the movement of water, such as rivers, waves or currents — could offer these communities another option. For rural microgrid communities along rivers, hydrokinetic energy could provide greater energy independence while helping reduce the costs associated with diesel fuel.

As part of that effort, ACEP summer intern Emma Kehoe worked under the mentorship of Ben Loeffler and Luke Woodhouse of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power to evaluate the power performance of the Wadsworth turbine, a crossflow turbine designed by Ray Wadsworth, a commercial fisherman from the Kenai Peninsula community of Seldovia. The turbine uses a unique cyclical mechanism to change the pitch angle of its blades as they rotate.

This was Kehoe’s second summer internship with ACEP. In 2025, she worked with the Green Energy in Mariculture team, developing electrical deck equipment for kelp farmers.

This summer, Kehoe first used MATLAB, a programming language, to theoretically determine the optimal pitch profile of the turbine’s blade to maximize electrical power. She then tested the turbine in the field at the Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site, collecting data and analyzing its performance.

Located in Nenana, 55 miles from Fairbanks, the test site provides an environment for researchers to evaluate hydrokinetic power generation technologies under real-world river conditions.

Her internship introduced her to emerging hydrokinetic technologies and gave her firsthand experience with the complex process of deploying renewable energy systems in remote Alaska. Working alongside the team throughout the research process — from computer-aided design and hydrological instrumentation to fabrication, field deployment and problem-solving on the Tanana River — has given Kehoe practical experience relevant to remote energy engineering.

Kehoe is a physics major with a minor in human biology and kinesiology at Colorado College. She said she is grateful to have worked with a hands-on, multidisciplinary team.

“From design reviews to impromptu, sketched lessons on the barge, every day was an opportunity to learn from this specialized group of Alaskans,” she said.

The ACEP marine energy research team will use the results of Kehoe’s work to help advance hydrokinetic turbine technology for remote microgrid communities.

In addition to gaining experience in energy engineering, the internship was meaningful to Kehoe on a personal level. Contributing to the well-being of rural communities is important to her, and having grown up in Talkeetna, Alaska, she hopes her work can help remote communities generate electricity at more sustainable costs while continuing to live along and draw resources from their rivers — a practice deeply rooted in Alaska Native cultures.

“Alaska Natives are experts on their rivers,” Kehoe observed. “Their expertise makes river energy an opportunity for engineers and communities to combine their knowledge in developing a practical power source.”

Through her internship, Kehoe is contributing to a broader effort to bring together engineering, local knowledge and community needs to develop more sustainable energy options for rural Alaska.

This internship was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office through the ACEP Undergraduate Summer Internship program. View the final presentation for this project on ACEP’s YouTube channel. For more information about this project, please contact Ben Loeffler at bhloeffler@alaska.edu.