Executive summary:
The Malibu Camp is operated by Young Life and serves high school aged kids from all over North America. Located on the rugged coast of British Columbia, Malibu is far removed from utility power lines, so must depend on diesel generated electricity. In order to provide for ongoing maintenance and planned improvements, the electrical supply will be under an ever increasing demand. This web site details the planned development of an independent hydro electric generating plant to provide all of the camps energy needs.
Reason for Project:
The Malibu Club gets all it's electricity from large diesel generators. These are expensive to operate and create considerable noise and air pollution. Malibu has out grown the present generators, and larger units are prohibitively expensive to operate.
The ultimate goal of Malibu is to provide young people a safe and enjoyable opportunity to explore the Christian faith. This hydro plant will enable Malibu to continue to provide this service well into the future, and at a standard that is required to attract the young people that Malibu wants to have as guests.
Benefits:
The greatest benefit is the energy autonomy this hydro plant will create. The fuel cost saving alone will easily exceed Cdn. $130,000 each year, and as fuel prices rise, so will the savings. With the planned upgrades to the camp, this saving will nearly tripple versus running a much larger diesel generator.
This new source of energy will allow Malibu to heat the buildings, thus enabling the camp to operate throughout the shoulder seasons of the year. In addition, hot water heating will go a long way to preserving the buildings from rot caused by the continual winter dampness.
Malibu's previous experience with hydro power has been very successful. The small 12 kW plant we built in 1993 familiarized us with the principles and provided a foundation to develop this larger project.
The water supply for this project is very reliable, and will fully meet our needs. All regulatory approvals have, or are currently being met.
We have a reputable engineering firm doing the major design and construction for the project. Malibu will be involved in various aspects of the construction where able, resulting in a cost saving and giving us a solid understanding of the system.
Currently, no Young Life camp is run entirely by renewable energy. It is exciting for Malibu to have this opportunity to be a leader in environmentally sound energy production, resulting in no green house gas emissions. A perfect example of the Kyoto protocol in action!
The Plan:
Water from a high alpine lake will be diverted through a steel penstock to a power house nearly 1250 feet below near the shore of Jervis Inlet. This will develop nearly 850 horsepower, or 600,000 watts of energy. The lake provides a vast storage area to ensure there will always be sufficient water available. We have authority to place a small weir, or dam, at the lake outlet to maintain the lake level at its normal maximum level.
The pelton turbine will operate at virtually no cost and with little maintenance for many years into the future. The electricity will be transmitted to camp by a submarine cable running under Jervis Inlet at a high enough voltage to ensure little loss.
Power will be distributed throughout camp on the existing and upgraded electrical system. A dedicated computer will monitor the system from Malibu, as well as there being sophisticated protection and control equipment in the power house.
See the Engineering section for complete details.
About this web site:
This site has been written to provide a detailed look at some of the major issues involved in this project.
The main links to the left are self explanatory, and the site is updated regularly as information becomes available or work progresses.
If you have any comments, or would like more information presented on any topic, please email me:
mepete@telus.net (remove all spaces) to let me know.
This site is best viewed on 1024 by 768 resolution. Contact the author if you experience difficulties. The email link is on the introduction page.
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