Queen Charlotte Islands
Name: Queen Charlotte Islands (Village of Queen Charlotte and Masset)
Population: 5,000
Highlights: The Village of Queen Charlotte is our Silver winner in the Lightweight division, scoring 10,210 points. A massive wind turbine farm is slated to harness the winds of Hecate Strait for the benefit of the north coast.
For those living at the misty far-western edge of the world, it ain’t easy being green. The islands of Haida Gwaii are located over 80 kms from mainland British Columbia, and that means that with every bit of food, fuel or energy, comes the extra challenge of transportation by sea or from the mainland. The burden of transportation in our age of energy crisis is no joke for islanders; all of Haida Gwaii is presently powered on diesel generators, a single apple will often fetch $2.00 at the store, and gas prices ran as high as $1.70 per litre last summer.
But while life at the edge may be hard on the bank book, it also makes the people of Haida Gwaii particularly well-tuned to the importance of energy efficiency.
That’s why communities like the Village of Queen Charlotte are doing what they can to address the energy challenges they face. For example, because fresh water is such a precious commodity in the village, a water metering system has been installed, enabling businesses and homes to keep track and be mindful of the amount of water they consume.
Village residents are also quick to make use of regional expertise. When the Energetic Olympic committee visited Haida Gwaii in August 2008, the community was hosting and organizing a climate change workshop featuring UBC environmental historian Tina Loo, where concerned citizens were engaged in a dialogue on ways to reduce energy consumption and mitigate the effects of climate change. Discussion ranged from how to buy electric bikes to how to produce food locally, to how to stay plugged in to new sustainable technologies and innovations as they arise (a great start is our Energetic Olympic Action Guide!)
But perhaps the most exciting energy news coming out of Haida Gwaii these days is the wind farm project being developed between the islands of Haida Gwaii and the B.C. mainland. In order to harness the energy howling through Hecate Strait in the form of consistent, high-velocity winds, Naikun Wind Development Inc, in partnership with Haida First Nation, is developing a large-scale wind turbine farm, slated to eventually provide as much as 1750 MW of electricity—enough to provide clean energy for 600,000 British Columbian homes. The HaidaLink portion of the project, which would allow for the end of diesel electricity on Haida Gwaii, would reduce Haida Gwaii GHGs by 45,000 tonnes that are currently produced through burning approximately 10,000,000 litres of diesel.
For more information about the Hecate Strait wind project, visit Naikun’s website.
