AUSSIES PIONEER WAVE ENERGY

Australia Takes First Step to Harness Its Surging Seas for Energy; Wave energy can theoretically supply up to a third of Australia's energy needs, but whether the technology can succeed remains a question mark
David Wilson, May 13, 2011 (SolveClimate News)

"Australia has begun drawing renewable energy from the forbidding waves that pound its abundant coastline…[T]he nation's first marine power unit…began operation in April…Developed by Perth-based Carnegie Wave Energy, the stand-alone demonstration piece called Ceto — the name of a Greek sea goddess — converts motion from the ocean into electricity through a pump anchored 80 feet undersea off southwestern Australia's coast. It can supply 100 kilowatts of energy, enough to power about 70 homes.

"When the ocean waves swell, a high-tech buoy attached to the pump moves with them. The movement powers the machine, which pushes water along a pipeline that runs ashore and drives a hydraulic turbine that generates zero-carbon electricity. Carnegie is planning a farm of 10 to 15 Cetos that will yield roughly 2 megawatts."

click to enlarge

"Wave energy can theoretically supply up to one-third of Australia's energy needs, according to the company, which invested about $30 million into its technology. But whether widespread adoption will ever be practical is another question…[M]ore research funding, development and testing to enable refinement [is needed]…In the meantime, Australia's state governments have stamped plenty of permits for small-scale demonstration wave power projects…Recipients include OPT and AquaGen in Australia's smallest mainland state, Victoria; Waverider in South Australia; and Oceanlinx in the home of Sydney, New South Wales. Wave power prototypes are also being tested by several countries including the United States, Scotland, France, England, Germany and Korea.

"Pike Research, a clean technology research group, says that if ocean energy and tidal stream trial projects succeed in the next few years the industry could supply as much as 200 gigawatts of power by 2025, about ten times the current amount of installed solar photovoltaics. A new report by the Carbon Trust, a UK government think tank, says the sector would need at least until 2050 to hit that target…"

click to enlarge

"…[W]ave power [also] looks likely to be controversial. In Australia, the possibility that Carnegie's wave project may pose a threat to the environment has fueled [debate]…though there have been no organized protests…A possible future obstacle…is public resistance to swathes of ocean being fenced off by wave farms…Environmentalists in several countries testing ocean energy technologies have raised concerns that wave energy farms could harm fish. Surfing and tourism industries [are also concerned]…

"Because 80 percent of Australians live 30 miles from the coastline, wave power…[could be important by avoiding the] high costs of distribution and grid connection facing other power sources…[M]arine energy also has the benefit of consistency…[but] wave power projects are still too costly to win funding they need from venture capitalists, and the Australian government [support has been]…intermittent and inconsistent…"