A research buoy that gathers data on wind, wave, and tidal power is anchored about 10 km north of North Beach.
Mariners were notified last month to watch out for the bright yellow buoy, which is six metres long. It has a solar panel, wind meters, AIS transponder and other instruments mounted on top.
The buoy will stay anchored in McIntyre Bay for about a year. It is roughly 10 km north of the Sangan River mouth.
Data from the buoy is being gathered for the Council of Haida Nation Marine Planning Program and Tll Yahda Energy, a renewable-energy company led by the CHN, Old Massett Village Council and Skidegate Band Council. The buoy was deployed by a research group at the University of Victoria called PRIMED, or the Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery.
In 2022 and 2023, PRIMED deployed wave-power buoys off the east coast of Moresby Island and Skidegate Inlet. They also deployed a wave-power buoy and did a tidal drifter survey in Masset Inlet.
Besides looking at areas with the greatest potential for offshore wind, wave, and tidal power projects, PRIMED is looking at how Haida Gwaii’s two electrical grids could integrate more renewables in the future, including scenarios where the two grids are interconnected.
Anyone with questions or concerns about the buoy can contact [email protected] or [email protected].
Haida Gwaii currently burns about 10 million litres of diesel per year for power generation, which is more than four Canadian provinces combined.
About 60 per cent of the power on the islands’ south grid is hydropower generated at the Moresby Lake dam.
About nine per cent of the power on the northern grid is expected to come from a new 2-megawatt solar farm at the Masset Airport. When it is switched on in the coming weeks, it will be the most powerful solar farm in B.C.