Carnegie Clean Energy has started the design and development activities for its Albany wave energy project located off Western Australia.
The first phase of the project involves the detailed, localized measurement of the wave resource at the specific offshore site proposed for the installation of the CETO 6 wave energy device.
The measurement of metocean conditions is now underway via the installation of a wave buoy approximately 1.5 kilometers off the existing Albany wind farm, Carnegie informed.
The data buoy was deployed in 30 meters of water depth by a local Albany‐based offshore operator and technician to measure wave height, period and energy spectra, and is now transmitting this data to Carnegie’s CETO project team.
The measured data will be used to validate the metocean modelling performed at the deployment site and will be fed into the detailed design phase of the CETO 6 unit and the common user infrastructure to maximize performance and survivability of the system and to minimize environmental impact, according to Carnegie.
Other project design and development activities that have started include consideration of environment, Native Title, planning consent, grid connection studies and approvals.
Further consultation will also be undertaken with the local community, industry and other stakeholder groups, Carnegie noted.
The Albany Wave Energy Project will be the first offshore demonstration of Carnegie’s CETO 6 technology.
The project will design, manufacture and install a CETO 6 unit in Carnegie’s existing licence area offshore from Torbay and Sandpatch in Albany during the 2019/2020 summer weather window.
The initial stage will involve the installation of 1MW unit, which Carnegie plans to follow with a 20MW expansion that could in turn lead to a 100MW CETO wave farm at the site.
In addition to demonstrating Carnegie’s WA-developed and owned technology, the project will also deliver common user infrastructure at the Albany site which Carnegie will make available for other wave energy industry developers once the CETO 6 project is complete.
To remind, Carnegie secured Au$15.75 million ($12.2 million) from the Western Australian government last month for the delivery of the Albany project.
Also, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) approved Carnegie’s request to move the remaining ARENA’s CETO 6 Project funding in the amount of Au$11.7 million ($9 million) from Garden Island to Albany.