Category Archives: Energy

Test Installation of Tidal Energy Turbine in Pedder bay

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

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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

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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

Drilling for the piling for the Tidal Energy Project

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On July 24, 2006 the drilling took place throughout the day, with ever-increasing wind speed. The following pictures were captured from the remote Camera 5 on Race Rocks.

 

Dredging the Overburden for the Tidal Energy Installation

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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

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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.

Tidal Currents and Current Measurement at Race Rocks

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The current at Race Rocks had just changed to a flood – it would be getting up to 6 knots in a few hours, so it was probably at about 5 knots at this time.

currentnowsTidal Current Predictions for  Race Passage
Prediction: Graph 

 

Race Passage Current tables, 2021

 

 

 

ADCP6Along with the installation of the Tidal Current turbine,  an ADCP was installed to give real time profiles of the Currents at Race Rocks. See the attached file for the type of profile that was generated:Sample of the result of the data analysis at Site 1:

 

sw24mThe Creation of the Race Passage Current Tables

 

 

 

Map of Currents at Race Rocks from ADCP tests

 

 

 

 

awac2See the video on wave and current measurement using the Acoustic Wave and Current instrument.

 

 

waterpropertiesWater Properties in Juan de Fuca

 

 

 

 

cursymbField Lab on Current Studies using Drogues.

 

 

 

tomiondeck1stomiondeck1sOceanographic
Research on Mixing in upwellings
of Race Rocks

 

 

kallesKalle Kallestrom’s essay on The biotic associations on the Current meter Block

 

 

 

deweysStratified Tidal Flow over a Bump
Richard Dewey,et al–Interactions of stratified flow on an isolated topographic feature: a bump to the east of Race Rocks.

 

ebbs MATLAB charts of barotropic currents to the east of Race Rocks.

 

 

 

generatorsLink to the Tidal Current Power Project

 

Propane generators to be used as a backup system

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

Archived Video : Pearson College Diving Activity at Race Rocks

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Underwater Webcasts by the Divers

David,Satoshi,Victor and others do the first Johan Ashuvud week at Race Rocks Testing of the underwater to surface DIVELINK communication system  Underwater Video at West Race Rocks.
Live underwater webcast to New York using underwater communication system
(Spring 2001)		 Bluewater Diving- or tether diving, 2002. An initial test for the live webcasts in the June,2000 at Race Rocks.
Sea lions Visit Divers Video

The Underwater Environmental Data Sensor Bar.

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In December 2000, the students and faculty of Pearson College install the first of the underwater environmental data sensors  Fouling -or succession– depends on how you look at it.

Underwater Work for the Tidal Energy Project

ADCP deployment for the Tidal Power Project Deployment and Retrieval of the ADCP from the Bottom of the Channel Succession Study of coatings and materials Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos video the substrate at the site of the piling installation, and test the depth of the overburden.
turbsitehydroids
Turbine site hydroid survey by Chris Blondeau and Juan Carlos Yabar, 2006

 

 Pam and Jason from Archipelago Marine do their underwater survey of the location of the Piling Drilling for the Current Energy Project. Video on the Pearson College, EnCana, Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks

 

 In December of 2007,The Pearson College Divers installed a set of junction boxes as part of a materials testing experiment for the tidal energy project.

TIDAL CURRENT :RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RACE ROCKS

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Complete Video Coverage of the Announcement at Pearson College

 TV and Print Media Coverage of the event.

Press Release : CANA PARTNERS TO ENABLE PEARSON COLLEGE – ENCANA – CLEAN CURRENT TIDAL POWER DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AT RACE ROCKS, BC Victoria

– Thanks to an innovative partnership between Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, EnCana Corporation and Clean Current Power Systems Incorporated, Canada’s first free-stream tidal power project will be built at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, offshore of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The project will enable the world famous marine park to tap into surrounding ocean currents and convert tidal energy to electric power for its needs beginning in early 2006. Making the announcement were:
Gwyn Morgan, President and CEO of EnCana,
Glen Darou, President and CEO of Clean Current,
Richard Neufeld, British Columbia Minister of Energy and Mines,
and Stuart Walker, Director of Pearson College.

 

Gwyn Morgan

Gwyn Morgan

Officially known as the “Pearson College – EnCana – Clean Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks,” the project is enabled by a $3-million investment from the EnCana Environmental Innovation Fund. “EnCana is pleased to be a partner in this first-class, alternative energy project,” said Morgan. “Our investment in this B.C.-based unconventional environmental and power technology reflectsour desire to tangibly encourage innovative energy solutions.” EnCana’s Environmental Innovation Fund was established to advance new technologies and solutions that improve environmental performance associated with consuming and producing energy. Commercial proceeds from financed projects will be re-invested into the fund to ensure their sustainability.

 

Richard Neufeld

“The commitment by Premier Campbell in promoting alternative energy sources has helped British Columbia become a world leader in sustainable environmental management,” said Neufeld. “The province commends projects like this one, as they show our commitment to developing clean energy solutions that will benefit all British Columbians.” The multi-year demonstration project will involve the installation, operation and monitoring of a 65kW free-stream tidal turbine generator in the water near Race Rocks, a provincial ecological reserve located 10 nautical miles southwest of Victoria.

Glen Darou

Clean Current is a private British Columbia-based company that designs and licenses technology that efficiently converts the energy of tidal currents into electricity. Clean Current’s proprietary technology consists of a horizontal-axis ducted turbine with a direct-drive variable speed permanent magnet generator. The turbine generator is equally efficient in both directions as the tidal currents reverse twice each day. “This Canadian technology is simple, efficient and environmentally friendly,” said Darou. “We believe it is highly exportable technology, with strong potential to succeed in international settings. Our company is delighted to have the support of EnCana, Pearson College, and technical partners AMEC, Powertech Labs Inc. and Triton Consultants Ltd.”

Pearson College, one of ten United World Colleges worldwide, is the custodian of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, located three nautical miles from campus. Diesel-powered generators currently provide electricity requirements at the reserve. Students and staff will work elements of the tidal power demonstration project into their studies. “This is a terrific project for Pearson College, in that it supports our goal of making the ecological reserve a showcase for alternative, low-impact technologies such as tidal power,” said Walker. “We would like to thank Clean Current for their commitment to developing the technology and EnCana for the financial support that is making this demonstration project possible.”

Second Year Pearson College student Alyssa Holland (year 30) concluded the presentation , by thanking the speakers. As a student involved in Environmental Systems and the diving program, she shared the enthusiasm she has for the resources of the area and emphasized the great importance she and other students attach to the effort of those involved in this project in the ongoing goal of producing energy sustainably.

Dave Skilling

Communications Coordinator
Lester B. Pearson College
250-391-2479
www.pearsoncollege.ca
www.racerocks.ca