A meeting between Western Australia’s government officials and renewable energy industry stakeholders has been held in Albany to chart the course for the establishment of Wave Energy Centre of Excellence.
The meeting marks a major step forward for the ruling party’s Au$19.5 million commitment to develop the center and invest in renewable energy for Albany, including a wave energy project to be developed by Carnegie Clean Energy.
Western Australia’s Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan met with representatives from the University of Western Australia and key industry stakeholders, such as Carnegie Clean Energy and Protean Energy, to being the planning process for the Wave Energy Centre of Excellence.
Alannah MacTiernan said: “We are committed to transforming Albany into a renewable energy city; today’s meeting will get that process under way. Western Australia has world-leading capability in the wave energy space – and we want that to flourish on our own shores.
“We have government, universities and industry working together to get the Wave Energy Centre of Excellence off the ground in Albany and help put WA at the forefront of this new field of renewables.”
The Albany wave energy project would be delivered in stages, involving an initial 1MW unit followed by a 20MW wave farm off the city’s coastline, Carnegie informed earlier. The project could be later expanded to 100MW should the initial wave farm prove successful.
The Western Australia’s government said that by bringing together universities and industry will help secure Albany’s place as a global hub for renewable energy and create sustainable jobs for local residents.