Abstract
British Columbia’s urban metabolism will eventually force our province’s energy supply to expand to an unsustainable capacity - our solution to British Columbia’s energy need is to construct a wind farm to supplement our hydropower in British Columbia. Our study aims to identify viable area using a Multi-criteria evaluation of onshore or offshore factors. Our onshore analysis factors are wind speed, slope, land use, elevation, and proximity to central power grid. Our offshore factors include wind speed, proximity to bird colonies, and proximity to power grid. Two offshore areas were identified as suitable locations for offshore wind development. One was located in the Hecate Strait, and the other just north of the strait of Georgia. Three locations were identified as suitable for onshore wind development: One in north eastern BC, on in north western BC, and in coastal British Columbia. Overall, offshore wind development showed more promising prospects for wind energy production and is the future of wind power in British Columbia.
