After trying very hard to complete the V-LIM turbine with local talent I am giving up on Coos Bay for the time being and taking the components to Portland for final assembly. Once complete we will bring it back to Coos County for testing.

Recent bad experiences with some local ‘business persons’ and local workers, the character of whom seem to be more prevalent than not, have left a very bad taste in my mouth for ever establishing a manufacturing facility in Coos County. Rogue River Wind, Ltd, will see the Western Oregon Wind project through for the school kids and then leave Coos County to the ‘manly men’ who think nothing of trying to pick the pockets of a hard working companies and the public that lets it happen.

Not that all experiences have been bad, there are good companies in Coos County like Koontz Machine Shop in Coos Bay and CAPCO powder coating in Coquille, (well worth the drive from North Bend), even the International Port of Coos Bay has been awesome, but the three bad experiences are soooo bad that I just don’t want to do business here anymore. Luckily for me, I don’t have to.

This week I will be in Washington, DC working for a federal appropriation that will help fund a 5MW distributed energy smart/micro-grid that can generate additional revenue for some of our local school districts. The project is called WOW (Western Oregon Wind).

The WOW request is through the Energy and Water Subcommittee of the House Appropriations a very competitive arena. Nevertheless, after meeting with the Governor’s office last week and speaking with both Oregon and US Department of Energy officials it is clear our proposal is being well received.
Smart grid software experts from around the world are already tackling the technological hurdles even though the optimum locations in Coos County for the power generators have not yet been determined. The more daunting challenges deal with structuring the project to best take advantage of State and Federal incentives in order to finance the grid. Thank goodness for smart lawyers and pedantic accountants who delight in weighing these options and figuring these things out.

The WOW will be a model system that can be duplicated and ported to other areas and has already received a lot of interest from budget strapped California and Texas. Work will continue in my absence to complete the stator, wind coils, set the rectifiers and busses and align the magnets on the V-LIM rotor. PSU has ordered anemometers and sensors and motors and circuit boards to enable the data collection required to certify the V-LIM and connect it to the grid.
Looking forward to the development of this micro-grid as the prototype nears completion it is clear the hard work is not behind us but in front of us. Thankfully the weather in DC has always been kind to me and forecasts look good for this trip as well.

In light of the recent changes occurring at the Coquille Police Department it is important to thank Chief Dannels for his professionalism and high standards during these awkward times and I for one am so relieved and grateful we have someone of his caliber working for Coquille. Also, I want to personally thank Dian Courtright for all the hard work she put in on behalf of all of us to help bring these positive changes to our police department.