World-first wave power project switched on

Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane today switched on the onshore power station of the Perth Wave Energy Project - the first ever wave power plant to be connected to the grid and operating multiple wave units.

The $32 million project has received $13.1 million in funds from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It utilises CETO wave energy technology from Carnegie, which has been under development for approximately 10 years and had some $100 million invested in its commercialisation.

During testing last year, the first of three 240 kW peak capacity CETO 5 wave units operated successfully for more than 2000 hours. Now the units are exporting renewable energy into the Western Australian power grid, which is being purchased by the Australian Government Department of Defence in order to power the Garden Island naval base HMAS Stirling.

“This is the first array of wave power generators to be connected to an electricity grid in Australia and worldwide,” said ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht.

Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane and Carnegie CEO Dr Michael Ottaviano switch on the world’s first grid-connected wave energy array power plant.

Frischknecht explained that the CETO technology “moves with the waves to drive tethered seabed pumps and operates underwater, providing protection from storms and corrosion”.

“These pumps feed high-pressure water onshore to the hydroelectric power station and desalination plant,” he continued. This provides both renewable energy and zero-emission fresh water.

But the project is far from over, as ARENA is now investing a further $13 million to develop the next generation of Carnegie’s wave technology, CETO 6. Like its predecessor, the CETO 6 Project will also be located on Garden Island - but the units will be larger and have a targeted capacity of some four times the CETO 5 buoys.

The CETO 6 Project is currently in its preliminary design phase. An update on further activities will be announced shortly.