The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is proposing to partner with the DOE Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) to use uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to capture high-definition video and photographs of the Pioneer Wave Energy Converter (WEC) project located off the coast of Nags Head, North Carolina.
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
October 7, 2025
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The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is proposing to partner with the DOE Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) to use uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to capture high-definition video and photographs of the Pioneer Wave Energy Converter (WEC) project located off the coast of Nags Head, North Carolina.
The purpose of the proposed project is to obtain high-definition videography and photography of the lifecycle of the Pioneer WEC during key stages of project development. The UAS would be an ocean deployment 25 nautical miles off the coast of Nags Head, North Carolina. A NEPA Determination (NREL-25-024; exclusions B3.2; signed 09/04/2025) was completed previously for deployment, preparation, and testing done at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.