The Perth-based Carnegie Wave Energy Project has just set a world record by completing 14,000 total operating hours according to an article by Inhabitat.
The wave generators are located off Garden Island, Western Australia. The CETO 5 marine energy system has been generating clean and renewable electricity and providing potable desalinated water for Australia’s largest naval base HMAS Sterling on Garden Island. The Australian Renewable Energy or ARENA provided $13.1 million in capital for the $40 million project for the first set of wave power generators that is planned to be connected to an electricity grid.
According to ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht, ARENA is proud to help local companies like the Carnegie Wave Energy Limited in developing new renewable energy solutions that have potential to change the way the world generates and distributes electricity. He also added that they do this by giving Australian innovators with the needed support during the critical research development and distribution period when critical funding is essential. The CETO 6 is the next generation of wave energy technology. Each unit will have a target one-megawatt capacity, which is 4x the output of the CETO 5 unit. The power is then transmitted onshore through a subsea cable. The CETO 6 design is the resulting platform that will be used in commercial CETO projects.
This is good news for renewable energy in the country and hoping that the government does not stop in giving grants to small companies that have the potential to change and provide clean energy sources to the people of Australia