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Frequently Asked Questions
General
Technology
Environmental Impact
Swordfish Energy is a Canadian clean-energy technology company founded in 2018 to develop a newapproach to generating electricity from moving water.At the centre of the Swordfish platform is the proprietary Swordfish Compeller, a five-wing hydrokineticenergy system designed to capture the tremendous energy available in rivers, tidal channels and oceancurrents.Swordfish combines the Compeller with electrical generation, energy storage, power electronics, intelligentcontrols, remote monitoring and project-development expertise to create complete renewable-energysystems.The company's goal is straightforward: produce clean, safe and secure electricity close to where peopleneed it, using the natural movement of water without requiring a conventional dam or reservoir.
Hydrokinetic energy is electricity generated from the movement of water itself.Traditional hydroelectric plants commonly create energy by holding water behind a dam and using theresulting elevation difference and pressure to drive turbines.Hydrokinetic systems take a different approach. They capture a portion of the kinetic energy that alreadyexists in a flowing river, tidal channel or ocean current.That means the water does not have to be impounded or redirected through a massive dam structure. Theresource is already moving, and the Swordfish Compeller is designed to convert that movement into usefulrotational energy and ultimately electricity.
Water is extraordinarily energy dense.It is also highly predictable. Rivers can provide persistent current, while tides follow astronomical cyclesthat can be forecast years in advance.That predictability gives hydrokinetic power an important role alongside wind and solar. Solar generationdisappears at night and changes with cloud cover. Wind generation changes with weather systems. Moving-water resources can provide another renewable source that operates according to an entirely different naturalcycle.A well-designed energy system can therefore combine hydrokinetic generation with batteries, solar, windand other resources to create a stronger and more dependable renewable-energy supply.
Swordfish Compellers are designed for suitable: Rivers Tidal channels Coastal currents Ocean-current environments Ports and harbours Industrial waterfronts Remote communities Indigenous communities Islands Aquaculture operations Mining and industrial facilities Data infrastructure Community microgrids Emergency and resilient-power applicationsEach project begins by understanding the local water resource, electrical demand and physical environment.Swordfish can then configure an appropriate system for that location.This site-specific approach allows the same underlying technology platform to serve applications rangingfrom smaller community systems to multi-megawatt energy projects.
Scalability is one of the fundamental strengths of the Swordfish platform.Swordfish is developing product classes ranging from approximately 50-kilowatt community-scalesystems through megawatt-class Compellers capable of reaching approximately 1 megawatt per unit.Multiple Compellers can also be combined.Where water depth and site conditions permit, units can be arranged into higher-density installations,including configurations designed to produce up to approximately 6 megawatts within a deploymentfootprint.Beyond that, multiple footprints can form larger arrays capable of serving major communities, industrialloads, utilities and regional energy systems.The basic idea is simple: start at the scale the project requires and expand as demand grows.
No.The Swordfish Compeller is designed to generate electricity from naturally moving water withoutconstructing a conventional hydroelectric dam or large reservoir.That distinction has enormous implications.It avoids the need to flood large areas of land simply to create the hydraulic head required by conventionalhydropower. It also allows the generating technology to be distributed within appropriate waterways ratherthan concentrating the entire project around a massive civil structure.Swordfish's approach is to work with the existing movement of the water rather than stopping the river inorder to extract energy from it.
Swordfish is particularly well suited to places where dependable electricity is expensive, difficult to obtainor strategically important.Remote and Indigenous communities can use local water resources to reduce dependence on importeddiesel.Ports, harbours and industrial waterfronts can generate electricity close to their operations.Mining and remote industrial facilities can reduce exposure to fuel transportation and distant transmissionsystems.Utilities can add distributed renewable generation near growing loads.Data infrastructure can access dependable local clean energy where suitable water resources are nearby.Island communities can combine predictable tidal generation with storage and other renewable resources.Swordfish can also support resilient and emergency energy systems where local power security is essential.
Energy Equals Sovereignty expresses a central Swordfish principle: communities that control their ownenergy resources gain greater control over their economic future.For many remote and Indigenous communities, electricity currently means importing fuel or purchasingenergy generated somewhere else. Much of the economic value associated with that energy therefore leavesthe community.Local hydrokinetic generation can change that relationship.A community can potentially participate in ownership, governance, manufacturing, installation, monitoring,maintenance and long-term energy revenue.That can create skilled employment, retain energy spending locally, improve resilience and support neweconomic development.Swordfish sees clean-energy infrastructure not only as a source of electricity, but also as a platform for localownership and long-term economic independence.
No. Swordfish is being developed as an integrated energy platform, not simply a turbine manufacturer.A Swordfish project can include:Generation equipment, power electronics, energy storage, electrical integration, controls, monitoring,communications, installation engineering, commissioning, operations and long-term maintenance.Commercial arrangements can also vary.A customer may purchase equipment, participate in a project-development structure, enter a joint venture,establish local manufacturing, or purchase electricity through an Energy-As-A-Service arrangement ratherthan purchasing the generating asset outright.This flexibility allows Swordfish to build the technology around the energy problem rather than forcingevery customer into the same commercial model.
Swordfish's vision is to make moving-water energy a major component of the world's renewable-energysystem.There are rivers, tidal channels and ocean currents across the planet carrying enormous amounts of kineticenergy every hour of every day.Swordfish intends to make that resource practical to develop through modular technology, site-specificengineering, regional manufacturing, intelligent controls and repeatable deployment.The long-term opportunity extends from individual community projects to regional multi-megawattportfolios and ultimately large-scale hydrokinetic generation around the world.The vision is ambitious:Turn moving water into clean, dependable power while allowing communities to share directly in thevalue of the energy resource around them.
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