The timing of the delivery of the Albany Wave Energy Project (AWEP) is being impacted by the uncertainty associated with the proposed changes to the Australian government’s tax incentive scheme for research and development, Carnegie Clean Energy said.
Namely, the Australian wave energy developer Carnegie submitted an invoice to the Western Australia state government for the first AWEP project milestone in July 2018 for Au$5.3 million .
According to Carnegie, it has not received the funding from the government, and is currently in discussions around the payment, which the company predicts could be resolved by the end of September 2018.
Carnegie also warned its ability to continue to progress the project is constrained until this uncertainty is resolved.
“The procurement activities of the project, and more generally, the timing of the delivery of AWEP is being impacted by the uncertainty associated with the proposed changes to the Federal Government’s R&D Tax Incentive scheme.
“Carnegie is currently seeking clarity from the Federal government on whether these proposed changes are still likely to be implemented and, if so, in what form and with what effective timing. Any changes to the R&D tax incentive could lead to a delay in AWEP and/or the requirement to seek additional funding,” the company said in a statement.
The demonstration of the new CETO 6 device was planned to take place at the AWEP site during the 2019/2020 summer weather window, Carnegie informed earlier.
In the meantime, Carnegie is continuing to progress the development of CETO wave energy technology, and has also to established the site layout for AWEP, before moving on to securing the required approvals and permits for the project, the developer reported.
To remind, the AWEP project is supported by Au$15.8 million from the Western Australian government’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, and Au$11.7 million of undrawn funding from Carnegie’s $13 million CETO 6 grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).