Abstract

Race Rocks is a small archipelago located just Southwest of Victoria, British Columbia in the Juan de Fuca Strait. An important Beacon for Coastal Navigation in this busy area is located on Race Rocks, which is also home to a stunning variety of marine mammals and birds. The Race Rocks site has become Canada’s first Marine Protected environment and is now carefully managed by a group of interested parties including Pearson College and The Canadian Coastguard. The environmental integrity of the site is often jeopardised to bring diesel fuel to the site and the noise pollution on the site due to the diesel generators is significant. IESVic has stepped forward to evaluate the potential of renewable energy sources on-site to power a sustainable energy system. A preliminary study was performed as an innovative graduate course at the University of Victoria that exposed students to sustainable energy system design. Our conclusion is that with Tidal currents of up to 3.7 m/s, average winds of 21.6 km/h and large amounts of solar insolation, there are ample renewable resources available on the site to develop a sustainable integrated energy system capable of providing reliable power for the site. Race Rocks is therefore ideally

suited to become a showcase for renewable energy generation. This paper outlines the results of the feasibility study, discusses the opportunities available at Race Rocks and examines the progress to date. Requirements for the implementation of a sustainable energy system on the site are discussed.

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