Grouse ‘pleased’ with Eye’s power generation
Posted December 2, 2012 8:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It took years to build, and it’s been generating power for two years now. But is the giant wind turbine up at Grouse Mountain meeting expectations?
The ski mountain won’t reveal exactly how many kilowatts it’s generating. The Eye of the Wind was unveiled in September of 2009, but started churning out power a year later.
It was meant to generate, on average, a quarter of the mountain’s power needs over the span of a year.
“We are a private company, so I can’t share numbers, but definitely across the board we are pleased with the power generation since it opened in 2010,” says the mountain’s Sarah Lusk.
The Eye of the Wind’s output varies throughout the year.
“We are dependent on mother nature. We obviously get a lot more wind in the winter months, which is great in the winter, because we tend to need more power for lights for night skiing and lifts,” she explains.
And there is no way to store the energy, so once the arms stop moving, Grouse has to draw from the BC Hydro grid. And when the arms are whirling, the juice is used to power just about anything.
“Everything from lights, to kitchen equipment, our computers, chairlifts, so the electricity is used right here on Grouse Mountain.”
Lusk stresses that the turbine attracts plenty of tourists and inquiries from around the world. But she says there are no plans to install a second turbine anytime soon.
