Thanks @o.c. 16, I will attempt to get my message across. This will be my second attempt, because the computer just swallowed about half an hour of typing that I had already done.
I remember well the discussions we had a few years ago about this company, some positive and some negative. I also remember you letting us know about your fishing exploits off the west and south coasts of WA.
Can you remember the excitement that was generated during the lead up to, and deployment of the Ceto 5 buoys at Garden Island? We had spies on Garden Island, Point Peron, sailing boats on the water and possibly even someone on a windsurfer avoiding Great Whites gathering intel on those big steel cans.
We even used the Fremantle Port shipping movements and Harbour Cam, to bring in a few scoops.
Trawling through the internet, we were able to find info in places like Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Canada, Bermuda, Chile and Mauritius.
We intercepted the report on the wave tank test in Edinburgh and tried to dissect it to the best of our ability.
I can recall Jukes, (whose knowledge of wave energy devices is far in advance of any of us), admonishing us for our impatience at the time it was taking to get Ceto deployed. It showed a complete misunderstanding of the technical challenges facing companies trying to break into this field, he said.
By now we should have a better understanding because after decades of experimentation it still hasn't been done.
Why has it come to this?
Unlike many, I don't suspect fraudulent behaviour.
I am more inclined to think it is a combination of many things, including some bad luck.
What other factors:
Foremost, the harsh and unforgiving environment in which the devices will operate. If I had a choice between which was harder, outer space or the Great Southern and Indian Oceans, I would probably go for the latter.
Next would be cash.
Followed by expectation.
Then politics.
Some bad calls, (incomplete due diligence perhaps?).
And then cash again.
I know everyone is blaming it all on MO, (the buck stops there and all that stuff) but I don't believe it is all his fault. Yes the EMC foray didn't go too well but why was that? We can assume it was mismanagement but what were the pressures of dealing with federal and state governments that continually changed policy?
Are other renewable energy companies having the same problem? I would suggest many of them are.
Where does the company go from here?
I can only think that a company with enormous resources, (with an intimate knowledge of CCE's technology) would want to put their weight behind the company to enable them to progress through to the final stage.
Could the MPower deal work?
Only if it is managed well and the new company gets the projects.
What will we get out of it? Not much in the near future.
Disclosure: I have not sold a single share.
Cheers MF
o.c. 16, here's hoping you land a big one.
