Carnegie eyes UK for its biggest wave energy project

Perth-based company, Carnegie Wave Energy, says it is likely to build its biggest wave energy project to date in the UK, with a planned 15MW project, taking advantage of generous government support on tariffs and grants in what is emerging as the biggest wave energy market in the world. CEO Michael Ottaviano says Carnegie will build the project at its Garden Island test bed, using its latest CETO 6 technology. Ottaviano says the UK project will occur in two stages, firstly a single CETO 6 unit followed by the balance of the project, which could be for nine to 14 further units, taking the installation size to 10MW or 15MW. The company has so far spent AUD100m on R&D but says it is well capitalised.

Wave Carnegie Energy, the Australian developer of the CETO Wave Energy Technology, has secured a $20m loan from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for further development of the technology and its commercialisation.

The additional funding will help the company making the technology export ready for global application.

The loan will replace the existing $20m loan the company had secured from the Australian’s Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

Wave Carnegie Energy chief financial officer Aidan Flynn said: "This cost competitive capital from the CBA will help Carnegie take a significant step forward in our development and commercialisation of the CETO technology, including the integration of CETO into a microgrid with other renewable energy sources.

"This cost competitive capital from the CBA will help Carnegie take a significant step forward in our development and commercialisation of the CETO technology."

"This will put us in a strong position to compete in the global, developing wave energy market."

The CETO system converts ocean wave energy into electricity and desalinated water.

It features a pump, pod and hoses / fluid connection and tether connects the pods to the foundation of the connector, which consists of synthetic rope.

The submerged buoys drive pumps and generators that are contained offshore, within the buoy itself, with power delivered back to shore through subsea cables to power desalination plants, as well as for export into the grid.

Compared to offshore wind farms, it is claimed to be safer as it operates under water while making less visual impact.

The CETO 6 unit plans to generate 1MW, which is four times the capacity of its CETO 5 used in the Perth Project.

It has already received $11m funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Emerging Renewables Programme.

The generated clean energy will be supplied to the Australian Department of Defence at Australia’s largest naval base, HMAS Stirling, on Garden Island in Western Australia.

Commonwealth Bank Corporate Financial Services WA general manager Gary McGrath said: "The wave energy sector is an industry of the future with great potential for Australia to be a world leader and exporter of renewable energy technology."

The bank has also agreed to provide an additional loan of $1m for the Garden Island Microgrid (GIMG) Project.

The GIMG Project is a wave integrated microgrid project located on Garden Island, WA, which will use the CETO 6 Project currently underway.

It will also be integrated with the existing operating desalination plant along with a new additional Solar Photovoltaic (PV) farm, energy storage and a control system.

The detailed design phase and construction of GIMG project is expected to start in 2016 ahead of CETO 6 construction.