Greetings from the Coast of Oregon!
Preparations are fully underway to deploy the WET-NZ device at the Northwest National Marine Energy Center (NNMREC) off the coast of Newport, Oregon. We arrived Sunday afternoon and have been full steam ahead since then. As you might expect there is still plenty to do, but the plan is coming together.
As we near the deployment date, we'll be sending frequent updates to keep you informed of our progress. Weather is a major factor in the deployment, so we're including real-time and forecast conditions in these updates as well. Please note that these updates are intended for team use only, so please do not forward outside your organization. If there is someone you would like to include on the distribution, please let us know and we will add them to the list.
Best Regards form your Deployment Team:
Justin Klure
Steve Kopf
Patrick Branje
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Hull Arrives at Port of Toledo
 Ready for Attachment to PowerPod
After a short ride down the I-5 from Oregon Iron Works' (OIW) facility in Vancouver, Washington, the WET-NZ hull arrived at the Port of Toledo, Oregon on Tuesday, August 7th. A special thanks to Bill Pender and the entire OIW team for their craftsmanship and dedication to meeting an aggressive schedule. The Port staff made quick work of unloading and blocking the hull. Patrick made some minor modifications to the air supply system and welded all of the sacrificial anodes to the hull.
We received word late yesterday that the PowerPod has left the Port of Oakland after its long sea voyage from New Zealand and is expected to arrive late tonight. Tomorrow will be a big day as we unload the PowerPod and attach it to the hull.
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The Perfect Day
Watching for a Weather Window
We all know that Mother Nature is the toughest variable of all. In order to deploy the WET-NZ we need a weather window of three days of relatively calm seas, so we'll be tracking the weather closely to find the best opportunity to deploy. Although we're still assembling the device, we're paying attention to the weather to better understand the patterns. The last few days have been absolutely calm, perhaps the calmest we've ever seen on the Oregon coast. The forecast for the next 4 or 5 days is for strong northwesterly winds. If the typical summer weather pattern holds, then we should see a period of relative calm towards the middle to end of next week. When we are ready to go, hopefully we will have the perfect day!
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NMFS Issues Final BiOp
ESA Consultation Concludes
On August 2nd, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued the Final Biological Opinion (BiOp) for the WET-NZ/Ocean Sentinel open-ocean testing, marking the conclusion of Endangered Species Act and Essential Fish Habitat consultation. With the conclusion of consultation, the US Army Corps of Engineers can issue the Nationwide Permit for project deployment and operations. Issuance of the Final BiOp also enables the US Department of Energy to move forward with the Final Environmental Assessment for its funding of the project.
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