MOT MBA Alumni’s Company Hoping to Ride New Wave of Power Generation

The following article appeared in the November 17, 2008 issue of Business in Vancouver.

Technology designed by Pemberton-based SyncWave Systems Inc. harnesses ocean energy

Peter Ion

When he isn’t installing the avionics into his homemade kit plane in his Pemberton garage, Nigel Protter will likely be found scrutinizing the latest video simulation of his wave power generator sent through that morning by one of his collaborators at the University of Victoria (UVic).

A self-taught computer scientist who confesses to having lived the life of an “off-grid Whistler ski-bum” for eight years, he took his MBA at SFU in his late 30s to give himself two years’ breathing space to get his head around the business of renewable energy. The result: the “power resonator” design, which is marketed by his SyncWave Systems Inc.

Thankfully, B.C. is a more enlightened place in 2008 than the U.K. was in 1978, when the first foray into wave power generation metaphorically sank without a trace. At the BC Independent Power Providers/Producers’ (IPP) recent annual general meeting in Vancouver, the growth in off-grid small-scale power generation was estimated to be around 9% of total installed capacity. With a moratorium on new large hydro development, all eyes were on micro-hydro and the opportunities for alternative energy options.

Although wave power was barely recognized by the more than 200 IPPs in attendance, BC Hydro’s new remote communities electrification call seems tailor-made for SyncWave’s technology, which could also be used with other offshore power generation ventures like wind turbines.

An offshore wind-and-wave farm, according to Protter, could be the trigger for the “large scale synchronous interconnect in the realm of 100-megawatt peak provision” that he thinks would be viable for reliable delivery to the power grid.

With the Danes proving the operability of offshore wind farms (albeit still contributing only 3% to the country’s national energy mix ) and the proposed London Array Ltd. offshore wind farm in the U.K.’s outer Thames Estuary likely to survive the shock departure of its key consortium member in Shell, wind power has gained its critical mass. Wave power could feasibly trail in its wake on B.C.’s waters.

Relying heavily on a well-earned reputation and working relationships with graduate researchers at UVic’s department of mechanical engineering, SyncWave is fine-tuning its resonator design.

Protter plans to use a hybrid wave farm of his power resonators with a diesel-based system on St. George’s Island in the Bering Sea. His research team projects that the system will be able to replace roughly 25% of a customer’s annual diesel power with wave power and save about 25% in the costs of generating electricity.

SyncWave has also secured a 50-50 joint venture partnership with Marinus Power. The Houston-based project development company plans to provide specialized ocean engineering, offshore construction and project management expertise and has targeted 2010 for the ocean testing of a demonstration device.

The partnership is also well-placed geographically to harness energy from what appears to be an increasingly reliable series of hurricanes moving through the Gulf of Mexico.

Jonathan Lonsdale, head of research for Low Carbon Accelerator Ltd. (AIM:LCA), a London, England-based investment company that specializes in supporting emerging “low footprint” technologies, said he’s impressed with SyncWave’s technology.

“Of over 100 ocean energy companies in existence, SyncWave is undoubtedly in the leading tier through a combination of expertise and with obvious strength in the full supply-chain aspect of the technology and understanding of the variables of the marine environment.”

Protter’s approach has been “to identify market pain, to apply a green technology that’s ultimately scalable to a level of commercial competitiveness through to a form of mass customization and in a way that is ultimately non-threatening to society.”

He accepts that funders will generally pick winners and not technologies and recognizes the “agnosticism” of investors. But thus far he’s keeping the faith.

And in B.C.’s drive to carbon neutrality, there are less worthy ways of spending your $100 tax windfall than on wave generation technology. Will Protter see a commercial adoption of wave farm technology in the waters off the coast of B.C. before he completes his kit plane? Probably not, but there’s no denying that we might be on the crest of something truly worthwhile. •

Peter Ion (// pete-van@hotmail.com pete-van@hotmail.com// This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it// ) is a North Vancouver-based technical author who specializes in alternative energy technologies.

Business in Vancouver November 11-17, 2008; issue 994