Conceptual Outline
The focus of this project began with my Interest in the Howe Sound inlet and wind patterns emerging from the strong south, westerly outflows of wind that have filled my sails on many occasions. Information at this scale was difficult to find, so the projects scope increased to the GVRD. The information gathered and the analysis performed operated on three levels.
The First level was determining wind turbine suitability for all land area in the GVRD. This would be possible if residential and commercial buildings could install small turbines on their roofs or in their yards. Due to the noise and inefficiency of turbines at this point, this level of study was more of interest and not of application at this point.
The second level studied wind turbine applications at more depth. Considering the landuse in the GVRD, it is widely distributed from commercial, residential, to agriculture and parks. The areas I chose as possible site were agricultural land and open/undeveloped land. These areas are further away from heavy populations and have a larger area to support a larger turbine.
The final level was a quick study of the suitability of small floating wind turbines. This technology is not as progressive and not commercially available at a small scale, however; it is a fact that wind travels fastest on smooth open surfaces due to less friction so the possibility of wind harvesting is very high.
ArcMap and IDRISI helped me to create a representation of reality and its relationships with wind turbine applications. After some tedious digitizing of wind maps (provided by the UBC Atmospheric Science Program) in ArcMap, I used a Multiple Criteria Evaluation and some other modules in IDRISI to build some conclusions.
The MCE used was very simple. The only original constraint was that it had to be on land in the GVRD. Factors included wind speed and slope. While wind speed is obviosly an important consideration, slope also affects the analysis. The construction process becomes very difficult as slope increases, so the possibility of a turbine decreases. However, slopes also tend to funnel wind together, increasing speed. Slope may increase suitability up to a certain slope percent, at which the construction becomes impossible.
The study of floating wind turbines required that the original constraint be inverted. This was done easily and the outcome was good because slope is not considered and friction is decreased substantially on water. This technology is far from being plausible at a small scale, but the potential for success of turbines on the water is huge. But is it in the GVRD area?
The second level of this study will involve an investigation of 2 specific small wind turbines.
Through this analysis, my goal is to produce a suitability index of small wind turbine potential and maybe bring to light some reasons why people of the GVRD are not embracing this technology.