Installation of lower section of the piling for tidal energy project

The lower part of the piling awaits installation on the deck of the barge

The crane hoists it into position. Almost half of it will be sunk in the shaft drilled underground at 20 meters depth

Lowering the lower section of the piling into the casing in the drilled shaft hole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images by Garry Fletcher and Gary Bouman

Link to the Tidal Current Energy Project

Integrated Energy Project Update-Record of Events

With the Pearson College – EnCana – Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks now fully underway, we are seeing a variety of activities in the preparation for the tidal generator and other components of the Integrated Energy System at Race Rocks. Look for the most recent updates at the top of this page.
END of Tidal Energy project and removal of Turbine

 

 

 

 

 

In the late summer of 2009, Pearson College installed six new 165 watt solar panels to add to the existing bank of 38 panels on the energy centre.

 

 

 

Redeployment of the Tidal Energy Turbine  October 2008

 

 

April, 2007.The tidal energy turbine is raised to change the bearings which had been deteriorating faster than expected.

 

 

Cementing anchor bolts to the roof January 17, 2007

Installaton of solar panels January 25,2007

 

 

PM Stephen Harper visits Race Rocks for an “ecoenergy announcement” Jan 19, 2007

 

 

 

Installation of the turbine Sept. 27, 2006

 

 

 

Testing of the Turbine in Pedder Bay

 

 

 

 

Installation of the turbine control unit

 

 

 

 

Laying of the cable to shore Aug.20-22, 2006

 

 

 

Installation of upper part of the piling

 

 

 

Installation of bottom part of the piling

 

 

 

 

Drilling Problems encountered in installation of the tidal current energy Piling

 

 

Installation of the Anchors for Drilling for the Tidal Current Energy Project

 

 

Dredging the overburden for the tidal energy installation.

 

 

The following on this page still need more work reconnecting links
The Race Rocks Weather
Instrument is installed at Race Rocks, Oct.26, 2005

 

dredgebucket detachment drilling
Dredging the overburden Deployment of Anchors for the
Piling July 16, 2006
Drilling
solar energy
sonde sensors
Underwater Sensors at RR
hybridunit2s.jpg
projweeks.jpg
mar23placebattery.jpg
Equipment install
Students of Pearson College help with transferring 96 storage batteries March 10-12, 2006
Battery Installation,
March 2006
Electronic equipment arrives March, 2006
Cable across Island
barge.jpg
SIMS towed video chart
install fouling plates
January 2006: preliminary work on piling installation Preliminary work for Cable laying and Pile Drilling..Nov 2005 Succession Studies on Different Substrates, summer, 2005
weather
The Race Rocks Weather
Instrument is installed at Race Rocks, Oct.26, 2005
ADCP recover
location
adcp
Deployment and Retrieval of the ADCP from the Bottom of the Channel Dock modifications for a concrete channel to carry the underwater cable: June 2005 Divers Examine two Prospective Locations for the Turbine Installation March 30, 2005 Triton and ASL Environmental Services do surface ADCP.
Extension of Generator Building to accommodate storage batteries

 

Link to the Tidal Energy part of the Integrated Energy Project Index

Turbine Control Installation for the Tidal Current Energy Project

Test Installation of Tidal Energy Turbine in Pedder bay

Problems in the Installation of the Piling for the Tidal Energy Project

Not every aspect of the tidal Current energy project went perfectly without problems. At one point the project was within hours of being called off. A replacement drill bit had to be flown in and weather conditions threatened to suspend operation.  The most difficult stage in the installation was the breaking of the drill casing and drill bit. One morning when attempting to attach the barge, the casing which by this time was sunk in the bedrock, twisted off, trapping the drill bit in the ground.

The conditions in August were marginal for the work at sea.

The most amazing part of thew process was that whatever the problems, the engineers proved to be very capable in meeting the challenge and coming up with a problem. This was particularly impressive in that it was the first kind of such an exercise and it was in an ecologically sensitive area  at a time of year when weather  could cause a stop to the process.

Cable laying for the Tidal Current Turbine Project

On August 20, 2006 the cable laying boat was deployed to start the process of laying the four electrical cables and a fibre optic cable which will take the energy generated by the turbine to the energy building on Race Rocks.

 

The cable laying barge is towed to the site to begin laying the cables

 

Photos taken by Mike Slater, Chris Blondeau and Garry Fletcher

Dredging the Overburden for the Tidal Energy Installation

On July 17, 2006 dredging of the overburden on the selected site was started for installation of the piling.This operation was the most environmentally invasive of the project, but it was estimated that only about 20 square metres of the bottom were disturbed. Given that this is such a high current area, within a year there were no visible changes to the are around the piling.   The following pictures were captured from the
remote Camera 5. by G. Fletcher.

 

Installation of the Anchors for the Tidal Current Turbine Project


On July 16, 2006 the barge was moved on site for the installation of the piling. The first stage was the deployment of anchors for the positioning of the drilling barge. I captured the following pictures  from the remote Camera 5.

On July 18, 2006 Chris Blondeau and Mike Cameron dived on the west centre anchor blocks and took video of the blocks and chains and some of the effects on surrounding organisms. They also navigated on the same dive to the dredged site as well and we see the excavation and the pile of dredged materials in this video.

Propane generators to be used as a backup system

Once into the tidal generating process, the engineers found out that these generator units were no longer necessary, so they have been removed

Turbine Site Hydroid Survey- 2006

Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos Yabar, did this survey to document the Invertebrates, particularly hydroids,sponges and colonial tunicates in the are where the turbine Piling was to be installed later in the year.

See other archived video with Pearson College Divers