Border Watch
Tuesday 4/9/2007 Page: 1
PORT MacDonnell could soon become home to a $450m emission-free wave energy plant. The prospects of building a 50MW baseload, emission-free plant at Port MacDonnell will be investigated by Carnegie Corporation during a visit to the Limestone Coast this week. Senior executives will meet with the Regional Development Board and Member for Barker Patrick Seeker to discuss the viability of the project.
The Australian Stock Exchange listed clean energy company last month acquired the exclusive rights to operate CETO wave energy technology throughout the southern hemisphere and has earmarked Port MacDonnell as a possible location. After meeting the Limestone Coast Regional Development Board and Mr Seeker in Mount Gambier on Thursday, Carnegie Corporation senior executives will travel to Port MacDonnell to view the proposed location of the plant.
Although Mr Seeker was unaware of how many sites were being investigated for the power plant when contacted yesterday, he was excited the corporation was considering the Limestone Coast. "It is just preliminary at this stage, introducing the people to the region," a spokesperson for Mr Seeker said yesterday. "But they are looking to the area as a source of wave energy electricity and water." The Federal Government is believed to have thrown its support behind similar projects in the past, which could benefit any proposal to introduce such a plant in the region.
The CETO system distinguishes itself from other wave energy devices by resting on the ocean floor, where an array of submerged buoys are tethered to seabed pump units. The buoys move in harmony with the motion of passing waves, driving pumps that pressurise seawater, which is delivered ashore via a pipeline. High pressure seawater can then be used to supply a reverse-osmosis desalinisation plant, replacing greenhouse gas emitting pumps usually required for such infrastructure.
The high pressure seawater can also be used to drive hydro turbines, generating zero-emission electricity, one of the key components of the Port MacDonnell bid. Obtaining the $450m plant would further bolster the Limestone Coast as a hub of natural renewable energy, building on the success of windfarms. The 50MW baseload emission-free wave energy plant will be discussed on Thursday morning, before the group travels out to the proposed site.
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