There’s a bit more of the Oceanlinx wave energy generator showing of late.
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The generator has been sitting off the coast near the Port Kembla Coal Loader, slowly rusting away since 2009 when Oceanlinx decommissioned it.
Since September last year the Sydney-based salvage company Polaris Marine has been tasked with removing the generator by Roads and Maritime Services.
As the photos to the right show, the front section of the generator has been removed.
Just last week, attempts were made to remove the remaining structure, said a Roads and Maritime Services spokesman.
“The Oceanlinx structure has been floated and preparations are under way to remove the structure completely,” the spokesman said.
However, the removal and towing of the generator is dependent on the weather and sea conditions, which have caused previous delays with the project.
At the start in September, the plan was to have it moved from the Port Kembla coastline by April this year.
But weather pushed that date back – and it happened again last week after the successful floating of the generator.
“The structure was required to be rested back on the sea bed due to poor weather conditions around Port Kembla,” the spokesman said.
“It will be re-floated when conditions improve.”
Despite its size and weight, the structure is designed to float but has been weighed down by a series of tanks underneath that have filled with water.
The 50-tonne front section of the wave energy generator was cut away in September last year and picked up with the help of a 600-tonne crane.
The 50-tonne section was loaded on a barge and taken to Newcastle for recycling.
The task of removing the generator fell to Roads and Maritime Services after Oceanlinx went under in 2014, with around $10 million in debts.
While Road and Maritime Services will be footing the bill for the removal, the organisation said in March it was "continuing to pursue the recovery costs associated with the removal of the wave generator from the receivers for Oceanlinx”.
Oceanlinx is still trading, after the former CEO Ali Baghaei bought the company’s intellectual property.
He used it to start Wave Power Renewables, which is trading as Oceanlinx.
