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Oregon Testing Concludes Successfully
Preparations for Next Deployment Underway
After more than six weeks at sea, testing of the WET-NZ device off the coast of Oregon concluded successfully last week. Deployment of the second generation, ½ scale device at the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center's (NNMREC) ocean test site went according to plan, and extensive performance data was collected over a wide range of wave and electrical loading conditions. Data collected during the Oregon deployment are being analyzed to help optimize the WET-NZ performance and inform future development of a commercially viable device.
With the US Department of Energy's recent announcement of funding to support long-term, grid-connected testing of the WET-NZ in Hawaii, the next deployment is planned for the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Kaneohe Bay. In the coming months, we will be shipping the WET-NZ to Hawaii and making plans to commence testing as soon as possible.
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R/V Alakhah at Sunrise
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OSU's R/V Alakhah and RIB arriving just after sunrise to support the WET-NZ removal operation.
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Float Pinned
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ORCA divers Luke Kalstad and Kris Hunter made quick work of attaching the airlines and pinning the float.
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WET-NZ Deballast
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Deballasting went according to plan and was completed in approximately 15 minutes.
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Headed up river
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Grant Snyder at the helm of the tugboat Peggy, safely returned the WET-NZ to the Toledo Boatyard.
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ROV Inspection Complete Subsea Survey of Device, Mooring Systems
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ROV Phantom
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Two weeks before the WET-NZ testing concluded, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) deployed a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at the project site to conduct underwater inspections of the devices and mooring systems.
After conducting dry tests of the ROV, the rest of the survey equipment, including a subsea navigation system and depressor weights, was loaded onto the support vessel, OSU's R/V Pacific Storm.
The ROV inspections were conducted over the course of two days (Monday 9/17 - Tuesday 9/18), and included subsea and surface video surveys of the WET-NZ and Ocean Sentinel hulls, mooring lines, and anchors, as well as the surrounding seafloor. Read more
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