Power of current affairs sparks waves of interest at Newhaven

Age
Saturday 13/9/2008 Page: 4

WHEN experts started looking for somewhere to try tide power, the advice was clear: you won't do better than the channel that separates San Remo from Phillip Island. The Singapore-based renewable energy company Atlantis Resources Corporation is hard at work there testing the power of the ocean. So strong is the current that Matthew Harry, a local cray fisherman and chairman of the San Remo Fisherman's cooperative board, says that when the tide's running at its fastest, it can be "almost impossible" to dock a large fishing boat.

"You've really got to know exactly what you're doing," he says. Although the trial began three years ago, the company was initially coy about publicity. Not only was ARC wary that others might steal the idea, it did not want to raise expectations too high. Since 2006, the modest apparatus off the pier at Newhaven has bemused locals and intrigued visitors to Phillip Island. Not only was all the activity happening under water, it was all under wraps.

Initially, two turbines were used, and based on data collected over tinge, a more sophisticated turbine, the Nererus, was created in Melbourne by ARC, and installed in April 2008. The new turbine works on a horizontal axis, creating kinetic energy as it is rotated by tidal flows. It works on the same principles as a wind turbine and is already feeding electricity into the grid. Testing will continue there until at least 2011, at which time the company's permit expires.

Although similar trials are going on around the world, none feed electricity into the grid. This week, ARC announced that the US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley had increased its stake to become the company's biggest shareholder. As part of the deal, ARC acquired Morgan Stanley's tidal power project development business, Current Resources.

The result, says, Tim Cornelius, ARC's chief executive, is "very exciting". Most importantly, he said: "We can now marry the cutting-edge research and development of ARC with that of Morgan Stanley, resulting in a much stronger product." While wind and solar energy have been among the best forms of renewable technology, ARC believes tidal currents have the advantage of offering "unparalleled predictability".

Mr Cornelius describes the Newhaven trial as a continuing success story, through research collected and environmentally. "We are collecting groundbreaking data at Newhaven, and plan to continue doing so until at least 2011," he said. "Protection of the natural environment is paramount. We have people complete regular water and seabed monitoring, and have found that through all trialling, the environment has suffered no adverse affect." While wind turbines can be a danger to birds, there is no evidence that marine life has been affected.

So successful has the trial been that the company is thinking about a second Victorian trial, in the Queenscliff area, where Mr Cornelius says there is huge potential. Bass Strait and the Pilbara region of Western Australia are other areas ARC are looking at with interest. "King Sound, located in the Pilbara, has some of the most powerful and fastest-flowing tides in the world," Mr Cornelius said.

There was also scope to apply the technology to fast flowing rivers. All of these new trials would be pending permits, which is why we really need a sustained effort from the Government to support renewable energy," he said. "They play an important role in that they really need to support companies like us through the permit stage, as it is all very new technology."