Former RDP students finalists for tech award
A group of former Red Deer Polytechnic students have earned provincial recognition.
The team of Kyle Salaway, Tyler Podgorenko, Kyle Bennett, and Mathieu Lapointe were named a provincial finalist for the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta’s (ASET) Capstone Project of the Year Award.
The project, Micro Scaled Compressed Air Energy Storage System (CAES), explored how to store energy generated by renewable energy resources for time periods of non-generation or when peak demand is in effect.
Their goal was to design and build a system that uses stored heat and compressed air originating from a compressor to generate power. The micro-scaled project was intended to demonstrate the capability CAES systems have, and indicate that a larger-scaled system could potentially produce a significant amount of electricity.
The system works by taking the intermittently generated electricity involved in operating a compressor and storing the air in a vessel that can be released through an air motor to provide electricity when needed.
“Kudos to the former Red Deer Polytechnic team for exploring how to make renewable energy enduring for future energy needs,” said ASET CEO Barry Cavanaugh.
The group was one of eight finalists named by ASET for the 2022 Capstone Project of the Year Award.
The Capstone Project of the Year Award was established by ASET in 2017 in response to overwhelming member interest in back-to-school stories about Capstone projects undertaken by teams of engineering technology students from NAIT, SAIT, Red Deer Polytechnic and Lethbridge College as part of their end-of-program requirements.