Discussion and Results
An important discussion point is the fact that the values used were averages. Several places in the GVRD have wind speeds above the Cut-In Speed of small turbines. However, if the wind only lasts a short period of time or on chance events, the efficiency of installing a turbine decreases a lot. Due to this fact, these areas were ignored if they did not remain over the Cut-In Speed over the 5 samples. Also, this analysis only investigates Autumn conditions in the GVRD.
Through the use of a MCE, the area below was found to be most suitable to install small wind turbines. The area show in orange has very high winds, but because the slope of the Coastal Mountain Range, installation would be impossible. The pink area shown is the most suitable area in the GVRD and both turbines discussed will work create energy here, however the turbine with the lower Cut-In Speed will create more energy.
Economic Efficiency
Because of the high price of these small turbines, the energy created may not save the buyer any money over the long run. BC Hydro sells electricity to the population at approximately 6 cents per kilowatt which is the 3rd cheapest electricity in North America (BC Hydro Website). At a cost of $14,000 CAD (for the less expensive option), it would take more than a lifetime to save enough money through a creating your own energy through a turbine. Unless the buyer has a strong intrinsic connection to the environment and feels as though wind turbines are more 'green' than BC Hydro's methods, it is not efficient to install wind turbines yet. As technology increases and the Cut-In Speed of turbines drop with the price, the economic efficiency can only rise.