WAVE ENERGY PROJECT POWERS UP

The Western Australia government has announced the next stage in the development of a 5MW demonstration wave power station near Garden Island, southwest of Perth on Cockburn Sound. Built by Carnegie Wave Energy Limited, the prototype CETO (wave energy converter) unit is capable of converting wave energy into zero-emission electricity and also powering the desalination of water. The State Government provided $12.5million to the project through the Low Emissions Energy Development fund, which was established to support new, low emissions technology.

Attending the project’s launch, the WA Energy Minister Peter Collier said demonstration projects such as this provided emerging technologies with the opportunity to prove their commercial viability while contributing to the expanded national Renewable Energy Target scheme. “The State Government is developing a clear direction for Western Australia’s energy sector over the next 20 years through the Strategic Energy Initiative, with a priority on providing clean, secure, reliable and competitive energy,” he said.

A successful CETO prototype deployment will ultimately lead to the first operational commercial scale wave energy unit in Australia.