Investment profile - Carnegie Wave Energy
31 October 2011
Illustration of the CETO wave energy system. Click image to see larger version.
Carnegie Wave Energy is a wave energy technology developer. Its proprietary CETO wave energy technology generates renewable energy from the natural motion of waves. The company has just begun producing electricity at what is the southern hemisphere’s first commercial scale wave power farm located near Garden Island off the West Australian coast.
Carnegie’s CETO wave energy system is distinct from most other wave energy systems in that it is anchored to the sea floor and cannot be seen from the shore (see diagram above). Submerged buoys are tethered to seabed pump units. When waves cause the buoys to move, this drives the pumps, which in turn pressurise water that is delivered ashore through a pipeline. The high-pressure water drives hydroelectric turbines, generating electricity.
The potential worldwide usable energy that could be extracted from waves has been estimated at two terawatts, equivalent to the current worldwide installed capacity for electricity generation. Only a tiny fraction of this is currently being used. The World Energy Council identified Australia’s southern coast (from Perth to Hobart) as one of the world’s most promising sites for wave energy generation.
CETO buoyant actuator during the installation process.
