www.watoday.com.au
October 16, 2009
WA-based Carnegie Corporation Energy will build the demonstration plant for its technology off Garden Island. The company yesterday announced that after a 12-month search around the WA coast, it had settled on the waters off Rockingham as the most suitable for the development of its CETO technology.
Power generated by the 5MW plant could go to the nearby HMAS Stirling naval base, or the South West Interconnected System grid. The CETO technology uses submerged buoys tied to seabed pumps. The buoys move in harmony with the waves, driving the pumps which pressurise water which is delivered ashore through a pipeline. That water then drives electric turbines and can also be used to supply a desalination plant. Carnegie Corporation expects to have the plant built by 2011. The project earlier attracted $12.5 million in state government funding through the Low Emissions Energy Development fund.
Environment minister Donna Faragher said the Government sought advice from probity auditor Paxon Group after it was told of the "new" location. When the funding was first announced, Carnegie Corporation was also investigating sites off Albany. It is continuing with feasibility studies there and on other sites around the world. An assessment by the Department of Environment and Conservation showed it would still meet the terms of its LEED grant. Energy minister Peter Collier said the money would also help Carnegie Corporation "explore the benefits" of a 50MW power station. Carnegie Corporation expects to make a decision soon on where the larger plant will be sited.
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