The project tests the use of renewable energies to supply heat and power to the polar sites, in order to limit the consumption of fossil and nuclear fuels and so reduce the risks and the pollution of the polar environment associated with their transport, use and handling.
Advantages and drawbacks of both types of wind energy have been discussed. Major drawbacks of wind turbines in polar environment are their fragility and lack of reliability due to strong gusty winds in combination with very low temperatures. Present technology of aeroturbines does not seem to offer any short term solutions for these problems. On the contrary, a machine using the thermal energy of the wind (and seawater) opposes only static structures (heat exchanger tube bundles) to the wind, which can be built as strong as necessary. Further a machine using the dipole seawater cold wind can produce a mechanical/electrical and/or thermal energy. It has been shown that the thermal (cooling) power of a polar wind can be 50 to 100 time greater than its mechanical power.
An experimental device (for continuous monitoring of the cooling power of the polar wind) has been designed and built. This apparatus was installed in the Russian Arctic. A second similar apparatus was installed at Dumont D'Urville. The meteorological characteristics of the two locations are quite different. The average temperature at Krenkel during the 4 to 5 months of polar night is around -30 C. At Dumont d'Urville there is no polar night and the temperatures are not as low, but there are very strong catabatic winds with speeds up to 80 m/s. The comparison of the results obtained at both locations has. improved the reliability of conclusions 50 years of weather data from Krenkel was exploited to get an overview of the potential of renewable energy in this region.