Carnegie’s MoorPower demonstration project approaches deployment

Project & Tenders

December 21, 2023, by Nadja Skopljak

Carnegie Clean Energy is carrying out final preparations for the deployment of the MoorPower demonstration project, whose aim is to introduce a CETO-derived wave energy product for the aquaculture sector.

Carnegie’s CETO-derived MoorPower technology is designed to deliver sustainable energy supply for vessels moored offshore – such as barges in the aquaculture sector – by harnessing wave energy and therefore reducing their reliance on diesel.

Final preparations are underway at the Fremantle onshore testing facility in Western Australia for the deployment of the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre-funded MoorPower project, which targets the reduction of reliance on diesel generators in offshore environments, aiming to minimize risk and carbon emissions.

Onshore testing of MoorPower power take-off (PTO) units is in the final stage, with the units and associated infrastructure undergoing placement on the demonstrator barge.

After thorough onshore testing of the PTO units, installation is underway, along with the necessary infrastructure, in anticipation of deployment scheduled for January.

The prolonged duration of testing for the PTO units was primarily attributed to ensuring correct control system behaviors under specific situations, such as transitioning from installation mode to generation mode and back again. There were also delays due to waiting for barge strengthening work to be completed.

According to Carnegie, rigorous testing allowed the project team to identify and reduce potential risks associated with the PTO units. Additionally, the emphasis on reliability aims to ensure the functionality of the MoorPower technology during its on-barge deployment.

After the scheduled deployment in January, the MoorPower demonstrator project is expected to yield vital insights into the behavior of the system across various sea conditions. These results will play a crucial role in confirming the operational effectiveness of the MoorPower technology and validating the previously completed numerical simulations.

The anticipated results from the project are poised to validate the technology’s viability in real-world conditions.

Huon Aquaculture and Tassal Group, Australian aquaculture specialists, and Blue Economy CRC are potential first adopters of the MoorPower commercial product.