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Ramea Newfoundland Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations10
System facts33
Sources reviewed17
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Ramea is not one single 110 kW wind project. Public records describe three distinct stages on the same isolated Newfoundland grid: Frontier Power Systems' six-turbine 390 kW wind-diesel project operating since 2004; Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro's separate 300 kW wind-hydrogen-diesel research project commissioned in 2012 and subsequently abandoned; and Puffin Wind Inc.'s later wind-and-battery redevelopment, which received federal support and filed for interconnection in January 2025. The archived 110 kW figure does not match any verified installed stage and should be retired.

Research status
Frontier says its original 390 kW wind farm continues to operate. The NL Hydro hydrogen equipment had been idle since 2014 and was decommissioned in 2024; its three 100 kW turbines stopped in the first quarter of 2019 and were sold to Puffin Wind in December 2024 for C$420,000. A January 2025 Puffin interconnection application concerned a wind/battery project, but no public source located through July 2026 establishes its final turbine and battery ratings or confirms commercial commissioning. The supportable current picture is therefore an operating original Frontier wind-diesel system, a decommissioned NL Hydro hydrogen phase, and a separate Puffin redevelopment whose commissioning remains unverified.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
110 kW
Coordinates
47.51927, -57.39502
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Ramea Newfoundland Microgrid?

10 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Caterpillar

Diesel generator manufacturer [3]

Organization

Environment Canada

Operating-data contributor acknowledged by the engineering study [3]

Organization

Frontier Power Systems

Participant named in the recovered project record; precise contractual role was not recovered [1]

Organization

Frontier Power Systems Inc.

Designed, financed, built, and says it continues to operate the original six-turbine wind-diesel project commissioned in 2004; it also supplied the energy-management role for the later demonstration. [4][5][8]

Organization

Natural Resources Canada

Federal funder of Puffin's demonstration under the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program; earlier federal pages about the hydrogen project are stale and should not be used as current status evidence. [11][16]

Organization

Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities

Regulator that approved abandonment of the hydrogen system in 2023, approved the turbine sale in December 2024, and referenced Puffin's January 2025 interconnection application. [9][6][10]

Organization

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Owner/operator of the island diesel plant and proponent of the separate wind-hydrogen-diesel demonstration; stopped further investment in 2018 and decommissioned the hydrogen equipment in 2024. [6][7]

Organization

Puffin Wind Inc.

Recipient of a C$4 million federal contribution for Ramea Wind Diesel Project II, purchaser of NL Hydro's three inactive wind turbines, and applicant for a new wind/battery interconnection and integration project. [11][6][10]

Organization

Town of Ramea

Host community on an isolated island distribution system; no public source located assigns the town ownership of the generation assets. [4][7]

Organization

Windmatic

Wind turbine manufacturer [3]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Wind
110 [1]
Diesel generation
Three 925 kW, 4.16 kV, 1,200 rpm generator sets [3]
Original wind plant
Six Windmatic WM15S turbines; each carries 65 kW and 13 kW induction generators [3]
Later wind addition described by paper
Three 100 kW wind turbines [3]
Controllable dump load
200 kW [3]
Reactive compensation
Six 30 kvar capacitor banks [3]
Typical load
Approximately 650 kW average; reported winter peak up to 1.1 MW [3]
Hydrogen project period
2007–2011 research initiative [2]
Original wind stage
390 kW from six 65 kW Windmatic turbines. Frontier reports about 500,000 kWh/year, approximately 15% of Ramea's electricity, and an estimated 375 tonnes/year of avoided emissions; these are operator/developer claims rather than independently audited 2026 data. [4][12]
Diesel generation
Three Caterpillar D3512 sets rated 925 kW each (2.775 MW total), 4.16 kV, 1,200 rpm, power factor about 0.85. Academic project material says one or two units normally served the load and a master controller coordinated parallel operation and cycling. [12][13]
NL Hydro wind-hydrogen stage
As commissioned: three 100 kW wind turbines, an electrolyzer, three hydrogen storage tanks and piping, a hydrogen generator set, and an energy-management system. A pre-construction design overview showed a 162 kW electrolyzer/compressor package, approximately 2,000 Nm3 of hydrogen storage, and a nominal 250 kW hydrogen generator arrangement; those ratings are design values, not verified final as-built test output. [6][8]
Community load
Published studies report an approximately 188 kW minimum, 350-610 kW typical range, and roughly 1.09-1.10 MW annual/winter peak. These are historical engineering-study values, not a current 2026 load profile. [13][14]
Puffin wind/battery stage
The PUB confirms a wind/battery project and a January 28, 2025 interconnection application, while the federal contribution was C$4 million. Public material found does not disclose a reliable final wind rating, battery MW/MWh, duration, controller model, or commissioning date. [10][11]
Archived 110 kW figure
Unsupported. Verified stages are 390 kW for Frontier's 2004 wind farm and 300 kW for NL Hydro's later three-turbine demonstration. The legacy value is not retained as installed capacity. [17][4][6]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Diesel generator sets

Caterpillar — D3512 / 3512

Three 925 kW, 4.16 kV units at 1,200 rpm with AVR and governor controls; the paper also identifies the 1,400 hp 3512 engine family. [3]

02

Wind turbines

Windmatic — WM15S

Six machines, each with 65 kW and 13 kW induction generators. [3]

03

Diesel master control

Model not publicly disclosed

Coordinates multiple gensets operating with speed-droop and isochronous governor modes; a commercial controller model is not given. [3]

04

Hydrogen system

Model not publicly disclosed

Electrolyser, three storage tanks, and an internal-combustion hydrogen generator were within the provincial research scope; manufacturers and model numbers are not disclosed on the cited project page. [2]

05

Original wind turbines

Windmatic — WM15S

Six 65 kW two-speed, upwind induction-generator turbines. Engineering material identifies a 65 kW and a 13 kW induction generator in each machine, a 30 kVAr capacitor bank per turbine, and a 200 kW controllable dump load for the wind system. [12]

06

NL Hydro wind turbines

Northern Power Systems — Northern Power 100

Three 100 kW turbines. The 2025 provincial note confirms the quantity and rating; a 2025 peer-reviewed case table identifies the model family. [6][15]

07

Diesel generator sets

Caterpillar — D3512 / CAT 3512

Three approximately 925 kW generator sets with automatic voltage regulation and speed-droop/isochronous governor modes. [12]

08

Hydrogen conversion and storage

Model not publicly disclosed

Electrolyzer, compressor, three storage tanks and piping, and hydrogen internal-combustion generator set. Public decommissioning records do not identify final equipment makers or preserve verified as-built nameplates. [6][8]

09

Control

Frontier Power Systems

Original wind-diesel controls and the later demonstration's energy-management role. No supportable public model number for the EMS or Puffin battery controller was found. [5][8]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Management

    • Community load 250 kW – 1,000 kW [1]

  • Generator control

    Automatic voltage regulators and governor controls support droop and isochronous operation, with a diesel master controller coordinating unit commitment. [3]

  • Wind integration

    The original induction-generator wind plant used six switched 30 kvar capacitor banks and a 200 kW controllable dump load for isolated-grid operation. [3]

  • Research boundary

    The paper's 150 kW pumped-hydro system is a modeled proposal, not documented installed equipment, and is deliberately excluded from the equipment list. [3]

  • Hydrogen configuration

    Provincial filings describe wind-powered electrolysis, hydrogen storage, and later electricity production through an internal-combustion hydrogen generator. [2]

  • Operating architecture

    The original wind farm injects variable wind into an isolated diesel grid, with capacitors and a dump load supporting induction-turbine operation. The later demonstration attempted to turn otherwise curtailed wind into hydrogen, then burn that hydrogen during low-wind periods. [12][7]

  • Hydrogen outcome

    The hydrogen system was idle from 2014. NL Hydro stopped investing in 2018; the three 100 kW turbines ceased operation in the first quarter of 2019 because of maintenance issues. PUB-approved removal covered the electrolyzer, storage, generator and EMS, and hydrogen decommissioning was completed in 2024. [6][9]

  • Costs and disposition

    The provincial note gives C$11.82 million as the commissioned cost of the NL Hydro research project. The PUB-approved decommissioning estimate was C$399,800, and the inactive turbines were sold to Puffin for C$420,000 in December 2024. [6][9]

  • Performance caveat

    A study finding that hydrogen would contribute less than 1% and that a proposed 150 kW pumped-hydro alternative could perform better was modeling, not operating evidence; no pumped-hydro plant was built as part of this record. [13]

  • Current-data gap

    No current public source gives annual island diesel burn, a verified 2025/26 renewable percentage, availability of individual Windmatic turbines, or as-built Puffin battery specifications. Frontier's current generation and emissions figures are therefore retained as supplier claims. [4][10]

Provenance

17 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    Ramea Wind-Hydrogen Diesel Project

    Government of Newfoundland and Labrador · Primary source

  3. [3]
    Increasing wind energy penetration level using pumped hydro storage in island micro-grid system

    International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Ramea Wind-Diesel Project

    Frontier Power Systems · Primary source

  5. [5]
    Projects

    Frontier Power Systems · Primary source

  6. [6]
    NL Hydro Ramea Wind Energy Assets - Decision/Direction Note R-IET-005-2025

    Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology (released under access-to-information law) · Primary source

  7. [7]
    Ramea Wind-Hydrogen-Diesel Energy Solution, Project 1357

    Government of Newfoundland and Labrador · Primary source

  8. [8]
    Ramea Wind-Hydrogen-Diesel Energy Solution System Overview

    Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro / Government of Newfoundland and Labrador · Primary source

  9. [9]
    Order No. P.U. 10(2023), Ramea Wind-Hydrogen-Diesel Generation Project Abandonment

    Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (archived copy via Canada Commons) · Archived source

  10. [10]
    Order No. P.U. 12(2025)

    Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities · Primary source

  11. [11]
    Ramea Wind Diesel Project II - Grant CERRC-MU-166

    Government of Canada / Natural Resources Canada · Primary source

  12. [12]
    Feasibility Study of Pumped Hydro Energy Storage for Ramea

    Memorial University of Newfoundland / Harris Centre · Secondary research

  13. [13]
    Assessment of a Hybrid Wind-Diesel-Hydrogen Energy System for Ramea

    International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering · Secondary research

  14. [14]
  15. [15]
    The Legacy of the Cod Fishery Collapse: Understanding Wind Energy Acceptance in Newfoundland

    Energy Research & Social Science / University of St Andrews repository · Secondary research

  16. [16]
    Ramea Island

    Natural Resources Canada · Primary source

  17. [17]
    Ramea Newfoundland Microgrid - archived legacy record

    Microgrid Projects via Internet Archive · Archived source

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