On the back of $11 million in funding from the government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Carnegie Wave Energy has committed to develop its $46m commercial scale wave energy project in Australia.
ARENA today announced the $11 million funding to support the next vital step in Carnegie’s groundbreaking CETO technology.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the funding would help Carnegie progress towards commercialisation of its CETO technology, which is set to significantly advance wave energy in Australia and internationally.
“The $46 million CETO 6 project represents the next generation of Carnegie’s landmark wave technology and is expected to deliver energy at approximately half the cost of CETO 5,” Mr Frischknecht said.
“CETO 6 also allows for offshore power generation, which could enable additional applications for the technology operating further from shore, in deep water,” he added.
The funding, which adds to $20 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), means that Carnegie will build a three-machine unit of its CETO-6 technology off Garden Island naval base near the West Australian state capital, Perth.
Mr Frischknecht said the CETO units were large, fully submerged buoys, tethered to the ocean floor and designed to harness energy from the ocean’s waves.
“The larger size of the CETO 6 units is a key driver of lower energy costs compared to the CETO 5 units,” Mr Frischknecht said.
“A single CETO 6 unit will be capable of generating up to one megawatt (MW), approximately four times the capacity of the CETO 5 units.
“This increased generation capacity, combined with improved efficiency, delivers reduced power costs and brings the technology closer to commercialisation.
“CETO 6 builds on knowledge gained from previous generations of the technology and aims to be cost competitive with fossil fuels in certain markets when deployed in large- scale projects.
“As the technology approaches commercialisation, each generation requires a lower fraction of the overall project cost to be provided by government.
“ARENA is pleased to support this Australian-owned and globally deployed technology, which is yet to fully realise its job creation and export potential.”
The project will generate up to 3MW grid-connected power for the HMAS Stirling Navy base, as part of Carnegie’s existing power supply agreement.
