Wednesday, October 26
Technical / Social Evening – WILD
ROSE WIND FARM PROJECT
Presented by: Claude Mindorff, President of West
WindEau Inc.
 West
WindEau Inc. is an Alberta wind power development company based in Medicine Hat.
In February 2005, West WindEau purchased the Alberta wind power interests of
Superior Wind Energy Inc. West WindEau Inc. has continued a program of identifying
and optioning lands with energetic wind resources in South East Alberta. With
over two years of wind resource studies complete, West WindEau has confirmed
that the acquired land leases and the high value wind resource in the study area
can support a commercial development initiative. This project called the “WILD
ROSE WIND FARM” will be the subject of Mr. Mindorff presentation.
Mr. Mindorff has been active in the North American Wind
Industry for the last six years, first as Business Development Manager with Superior
Wind Energy (a Brascan Power subsidiary), subsequently as VP and General Manager
of Brascan Power Wind, and most recently, as Wind Advisor to Brascan Power. Mr.
Mindorff has played a major role in a variety of industry leading initiatives.
Tuesday, November 15 – Noon
Hour Video Conference – About eight of our local members were able to make
it out to our first association wide video conference. Five or six branches
participated in this event in which Mr. Dan gave us a Presentation on the
implementation of the Alberta SuperNet. The meeting was
held at Entre Corp which is now downtown across from the Towne Theater above
the Credit union. This video conference was sponsored by APEGGA Head office
this time around and so there was no charge.
The video conference was well received by those members in
attendance, some of whom had worked quite closely with Alberta SuperNet. The
next event is expected to be in January and our information to date tells us
that the topic for discussion will be the development of the Edmonton ring road
project
Future such events at this facility will cost the branch
about $125, which seems quite cost effective. Seating at the facility is
limited to 15 and we already have 10 RSVP’s so do let us know asap if you
would like to be in attendance.
Thursday, November 17 – Technical
/ Social Evening – APEGGA members and guests met at Ralph’s Texas
Bar & Grill for a Technical/Social evening. After a delicious roast
beef buffet dinner, Mr. Colby Bell shared his experiences as the project manager
of the University of Calgary’s entry into the 2005 Solar Car Challenge. The
UC team designed their car, tested a prototype, and built their race vehicle
- in only nine months. Then, they were off to the races!
The North American race started in Austin, Texas and finished
at the University of Calgary campus in July. The solar cars made stops
in many cities along the 4000 km route, including Medicine Hat. In September,
the team and their vehicle traveled to Australia, to race over 3000 km from Darwin
to Adelaide. The UC team finished 13th overall in North America. In
Australia, they finished 10th overall; what’s even more impressive is that
they finished first in the production category and were the first rookie team
to ever complete the Australian race.
 The
Solar Car Challenge attracts teams from around the world. There are two
categories of vehicles: open class and production class. Open class entries
use specialized materials and have budgets in the millions of dollars. Production
class vehicles (like UC’s entry) are built from off-the-shelf components. The
UC team’s vehicle was completed on a budget of merely $350,000.
The solar cars are built for speed, not comfort. The
UC vehicle reached speeds of up to 85 km/hr. Colby was one of the team’s
drivers, and he described what it was like to race across the Australian outback
in a vehicle without air conditioning. The race was physically challenging
for the drivers and their vehicles, and some teams didn’t finish.
Colby’s enthusiasm for solar power goes beyond the
Solar Car Challenge. He and his team members visit schools and community
groups to share their experiences and to increase awareness of the potential
of solar power to replace some of our non-renewable energy sources. It’s
a topic that’s becoming more important as we acknowledge the environmental
impacts of fossil fuels and our vulnerability in depending on them so heavily. And
who knows? Maybe one day, they’ll build a solar car that has air
conditioning and a CD player.
To learn more about the University of Calgary’s entry
in the Solar Car Challenge, visit www.calgarysolarteam.ca. The
photograph above is taken from the Australian race organizer’s web site. (Thanks
to Sandra Plank for this submission to the Newsletter)
The Branch executive is looking at a number of interesting
topics for future member outreach activities from January to June. Stay
tuned for future notices. |
BRANCH EXECUTIVE MEETING