TIDAL & SOLAR ENERGY : RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RACE ROCKS
		The Solar Energy Project The Tidal Current Energy Project
			The key to sustainability of the Race Rocks Ecosystem with its program of research and education has been the development of an integrated energy system for Race Rocks. The links above provide an insight into how we have accomplished this task. This link provides an ongoing account of the progress of the research that is going on in this project with the aim of achieving energy self-sufficiency.
	Background to the Integrated Energy Project for Race Rocks Starting in 1997, Lester B. Pearson College had to raise the funds to keep the diesel generators working to supply electricity to the island. The cost of doing this was originally $11,000 per year and within 4 years reached $20,000. The lighthouse light and foghorn had been made energy self- sufficient with 8 solar panels and a battery array installed by the Coast Guard by 1997. By 1998 we were proposing to develop support for alternate energy technologies to make the rest of the island energy-self sufficient and in so doing, create a curriculum resource on alternate energy for science courses at Lester Pearson College and elsewhere. .Link to the Traditional Energy System at Race Rocks
	In March of 2000, Dr. David Scott, ( formerly IESVic Director, now Director of Energy Systemics group), Dr. Ged McLean, (IESVic Director) , Dr. Murray MacWhale, ( Assistant Professor) and Mr. Walter Merida, ( former United World College student at the Adriatic College and then a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria) went out to Race Rocks with Garry Fletcher to start a process of idea building on the concept of Alternate Energy Technologies for Race Rocks . After a meeting including a few of the Pearson College students who were staying at Race Rocks while diving over the mid term break, we came away confident that some ideas had been discussed which may lead to a new collaborative arrangement for energy alternatives for the island. Link to this file on Dr. David Scott By May of 2000 Dr. Ged McLean arranged to have three students in Engineering at the University of Victoria do a feasibility study on Alternate Energy for Race Rocks in a class in the summer of 2000. As a result of this preliminary study, Taco Niet decided to take this on as a project for his Master 's Program. University of Victoria Media Release: Graduate Student creates a renewable energy plan for Race Rocks. Article in the Times Colonist referring to Taco's research Article in THE RING (UVIC) Going with the Flow Video of an interview by Garry Fletcher with Taco Niet on Alternate Energy for Race Rocks Link to PDF file on RACE ROCKS SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT T. Niet, G. McLean Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 3P6 Taco Niet's Thesis ABSTRACT See also Niet, T, McLean, G. "Race Rocks Sustainable Energy Development", Paper presented at 11th Canadian Hydrogen Conference, Victoria, BC, June 2001 Proposal by Michael Wheatley to reduce Power Generation Cost and Diesel Fuel Consumption at Race Rocks
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