There’s a problem with the Wharf. The popular tourist spot is also a drain on electricity, consuming about 100 times more than the average home. Now a group of recent UCSC graduates are trying to figure out whether the Wharf can be energy self-sufficient. They are putting up a 6-foot-tall wind turbine on the roof of the Wharf headquarters. The turbine will be accompanied by solar and wave sensors, and the students hope to measure how much electricity the three renewable sources of power could potentially generate. Can the Wharf become energy self-sufficient?
Mike Isaacson, a professor of electrical engineering who is working with the students, admits that, “No one source of energy will be enough, be it wind, water or sun. “All three will have to be combined.” One of the focuses of the study will be to determine what sources provide the most energy at different times of day.
The entire cost of the project is $1 million, covered in part by a grant from UCSC’s Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society. The students are still looking for additional funding to continue their study, with data collection beginning this autumn.
If the combination proves workable, they hope to go ahead and obtain permits for permanent installations. “We’re all into the whole green sustainability thing,” says Brian Simmons, an electrical engineering graduate who is leading the project. If they can cut down the Wharf’s energy consumption, the whole green sustainability thing may well pay off.
