Carnegie waves at Victoria

www.news.com.au
July 13, 2009

LISTED wave energy company Carnegie Corporation says it may choose a site off the Victorian coast to build a $300 million demonstration plant. Carnegie Corporation managing director Michael Ottaviano held talks with the Victorian Government late last week in a bid to secure a seabed licence for the 50MW plant. Mr Ottaviano said his Perth-based company was evaluating five sites around southern Australia, but three which looked the most promising were near Portland, Warrnambool and Phillip Island.

Earlier this year, Carnegie Corporation signed a $250 million project financing deal with banking giant Investec. If the company wins one of the grants of up to $100 million the Federal Government is offering for renewable energy projects, then Investec will provide the remaining finance to build the plant. The wave energy technology, named CETO after a Greek sea goddess, involves anchoring to the ocean floor a 3m pipe with a floating buoy that activates a piston-like action as it moves with the waves. The process causes seawater to be pumped ashore at high pressure and into a turbine to generate electricity.