ARENA Supports CSIRO’s Research on Carnegie’s Perth Wave Energy Project

Wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy Limited will be part of a $1.3m national study undertaken by Australia’s premier science agency, the CSIRO, to develop a wave energy atlas and improve the assessment of wave energy extraction on the marine environment.

The Australian Government’s independent funding agency for emerging renewable technologies, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced $1.3 million of funding support for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to undertake the innovative wave resource mapping and modelling project.

Carnegie’s Perth Wave Energy Project, off Garden Island in Western Australia, will be monitored using in-water oceanographic sensors, and the impacts of energy extraction assessed using computation modelling, allowing CSIRO to establish best practice guidelines for assessing the potential impact of wave energy plants.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said: “This project builds on CSIRO’s previous work and is an important step forward in enabling more wave energy projects to come to the fore in Australia. Such a tool would be of tremendous value for an emerging industry and for anyone assessing the viability of wave power.

“Australia has some of the best wave resources in the world and we’re only just starting to tap into the ocean’s potential to produce reliable, renewable energy.”

Carnegie’s Project Development Officer, Tim Sawyer said: “This project offer tremendous value to Carnegie and the broader industry, as it will provide an accessible tool to characterise Australia’s enormous untapped wave energy resource, and develop a methodology to assess the potential impact of wave energy extraction on the environment. Carnegie is keen to embrace and share knowledge of its experiences to help the industry move forward.”

Press Release, July 23, 2014