Month: September 2015

Neptune Wave Power: Turning Waves into Electricity

On September 11, 2015 the management of Neptune Wave Power will have a telephone conference with potential investors and their advisors about the firm’s prospects. I have arranged for Alfred University to have access to this call.

Waves have moved energy around the globe since the earth was formed. But humans have yet to harness them at a reasonable cost and at scale. So the innovations keep coming. One of the most promising is Neptune Wave Power.

Neptune Wave Power, based in Texas, has developed and patented a technology that can efficiently convert the wave motion imparted on a buoy into a rotational motion that drives a generator to produce electricity.  Neptune’s patent for a computer controlled horizontal rotating pendulum provides us with a significant advantage over the competition.  It is their patented system that allows Neptune to optimize the conversion of wave motion to electricity. (If the idea of a “horizontal rotating pendulum gives you pause, just think of a self-winding watch. It’s the same idea.)

Neptune Wave Power’s technology is a “point absorber” Wave Energy Conversion Device (‘WECD’).  The floating and securely moored offshore buoy reacts to the vertical surge and irregular movement of waves causing a horizontal pendulum within it to rotate.  The rotational energy of this pendulum is directed to an on board electric generator.  Power generated is fed to the utility grid via an underwater cable system at an interconnect point. Neptune Wave Power’s WECD patented designs have numerous advantages:

* No moving parts exposed to seawater

* Design that uses proven electrical, mechanical, mooring, and drive components

* Modular design for cost effective manufacturing

*  Interchangeable components for cost effective maintenance

*  Scalable and movable

* Dynamically configurable for any offshore environment

FTC Guest Speaker

Carol Kando-Pineda has been an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission since 1990.  She has served in a number of positions at the Commission.  She began as a staff attorney bringing cases about deceptive advertising.  She then became Legislative Counsel in the Commission’s Office of Congressional Relations.  She now manages outreach partnerships with community organizations and other institutions.  She also leads creative teams to create print publications, websites, and videos to give people practical tips and tools to be more savvy consumers.
She earned her A.B. from Harvard and J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law.

You can see her Linkedin profile at:

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/carol-kando-pineda/5/769/503

EPA Guest Speaker

Paul Simon is a senior official of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 2, which encompasses New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In his current position, he leads EPA Region 2’s climate change efforts. He guides Region 2’s development of strategies for promoting climate change mitigation and climate adaptation, and serves as a liaison on climate change issues with other EPA offices as well as other federal and state government agencies, municipalities and other stakeholders.

Mr. Simon has been with EPA since 1985 and for many years, served there as a managing attorney. As the Deputy Regional Counsel from 2005 to 2010, he worked closely with the Regional Counsel in the management and direction of an office of eighty lawyers providing legal support for the Agency’s implementation and enforcement of many federal environmental laws. He also directly managed the office’s legal efforts relating to the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site. In addition, in 2009, Mr. Simon served on a 4-month detail in EPA Headquarters as Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.

Mr. Simon earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

 

Alfred University Drone Club

The AU Drone club was recognized this month by Alfred University.

Alfred University Drone Club (AUDC) was created to gain experience on how to manage a business by using drones as a learning vehicle. This club is to be treated like a business so students can obtain knowledge about managerial aspects of accounting, finance, economics, law, operations and engineering. The club hopes to provide commercial drone services to the university and the Alfred community.