An Alternate Energy Proposal For Cape Bird Antarctic Research Station
Cape Bird is a narrow strip of stony coastline at the foot of Mt Bird in the north-west corner of Ross Island, Antarctica. Situated at latitude 77:22oS and longitude 166:43oE Antarctica New Zealand have built a comfortable eight person research hut used by scientists over the summer months. The hut, measuring approximately 85 square meters, consists of 2 bunk rooms, a kitchen/dining room, pantry, store room and laboratory. The hut is continuously occupied during the summer months from mid October till the end of January. During this time the hut is entirely dependent on the use of fossil fuel for both its thermal and electrical energy requirements. This paper, in conjunction with Antarctica New Zealand and the Electric Power Engineering Centre at the University of Canterbury, investigates the renewable energy potential for Cape Bird hut before describing the current renewable energy design that is to be installed during the 2004/05 summer.
