The
Outer Banks Sentinel,
Sept. 2005
BY LARRY BRIA, SENTINEL STAFF
At a hastily scheduled information meeting held Thursday at the
Dare County Justice Center, Justin Bishop, president and CEO
of Elemental Innovation Inc., a New Jersey-based company, presented
the company's HALO Wave Attenuator technology to local officials.
Elected officials attending included Dare County Board of Commissioners
Chairman Stan White, Commissioners Warren Judge and Mike Johnson,
and Kitty Hawk Mayor Bill Harris.
Bishop advised the technology absorbs rather than deflects the
force of waves; with testing and deployments done in New Jersey
proving the attenuator technology can reduce wave heights by
up to 80 percent and the strength of waves up to 95 percent.
He said that the technology is designed to withstand hurricanes
and nor'easters and can be deployed in waters up to 20 feet in
depth. Bishop said the areas of deployment would have to be marked
as hazards to navigation. He described the technology as a floating
structure which would be anchored and is capable of being moved
if necessary.
County and town officials pointed out that although the test
results are promising, Dare County would present problems inherent
in an area of the ocean which is extremely rough and during the
winter months, there are often at least two nor'easters per month.
Cost and who would pay for this technology became the main issue
discussed. The cost, according to Bishop, would be between $200
and $1,000 per linear foot depending upon the height and quantity
of the attenuators.
It was suggested that the Shoreline Protection Committee handle
this project and contact towns along the beach to determine a
location for a demonstration project. With a site identified,
and a clearly defined project with clearly defined goals, the
company could then make a proposal.
It was stated by county officials that the county and towns need
to define goals and get more engineering input, after which the
company can make a proposal based on those goals.
White estimated the cost of beach renourishment to be somewhere
in the area of $100 million and this technology presented by
Bishop would be looking at as a possible solution to the 40 to
50 years of maintenance which is now estimated to cost in the
area of $600 million.
About Justin Bishop
Justin
Bishop |
Justin
Bishop, the inventor of HALO, serves as President and CEO
of Elemental Innovation, a New Jersey (USA) based engineering
firm dedicated to the design and implementation of environmentally
friendly products. His first generation wave attenuator, the
WhisprWave® has been deployed successfully for 7 years
in many locations in the US including a security installation
at
the Naval Amphibious Base in Norfolk, Virginia. Justin has
been designing products for the marine environment for 15 years
and
prior to working on HALO, developed and patented numerous products
including ocean wave energy converters. EI has been rewriting
the rules for wave height reduction/protection and is a trusted
solution provider for beach erosion mitigation, wave and wake
reduction, and security zone protection.
Contact Elemental Innovation, Inc.
Tel: +1.973.218.9880
Fax: +1.973.218.9881
Website: www.elementalinnovation.com
