The Southern Hemisphere’s first commercial-scale wave power unit has begun producing energy as part of a trial project.
Carnegie Wave Energy said its CETO 3 unit on Garden Island, south of Perth, had begun producing hydraulic power and was performing to expectations.
Managing director Michael Ottaviano said the trial would be followed by a grid-connected, two-to-five-megawatt demonstration project.
The system is made up of submerged buoys tethered to pump units anchored to the ocean floor at about 25 metres depth. The buoys move with the motion of the waves, driving the pumps, which in turn pressurise water that is delivered to shore via a pipeline to drive hydroelectric turbines, producing zero-emission electricity.
Waves in excess of one metre are needed to produce reliable energy, which makes the southern and western coasts of Australia ideal, according to Mr. Ottaviano. Most of the southern half of Australia receives two-metre swells for at least 90 per cent of the year.
Mr. Ottaviano said the purpose of the trial project was to demonstrate Carnegie’s pumping technology, not the power off-take technology, which was ”off the shelf”.
Power from the trial project was not being used, he said. The company was instead focused on collecting performance data.
”We’ll have a full idea of this unit’s performance in a matter of weeks,” he said.
Power from the forthcoming grid demonstration project could be sold to state electricity retailer Synergy or the Department of Defense for use on Garden Island, which is Australia’s largest naval base, he said.
Carnegie has signed a memorandum of understanding with both parties.
”We’ve also been short-listed by WaterCorp to sell them power for the new desalination plant being built south of Perth down at Bunbury,” Mr. Ottaviano said.
