$1m for ocean power

The Standard (Warrnambool), Page: 3
Tuesday, 18 July 2006

WORK on Australia's first commercial wave-power electricity plant could start off Portland early next year after the State Government yesterday chipped in $1 million. The funding was part of a $13.3 allocation in addition to $500,000 previously provided to develop green energy technologies. Australian company Energetech is studying wave activity at Portland ahead of the first stage of the $40-million development.

Energetech chief financial officer John Bell said each unit would supply electricity for between 1500 and 2000 homes. "We expect it to develop into a commercial wind farm (size) where you have five, 10 or 15 units able to generate a small town's power," he said. The plant would be based on a prototype which has been built at Port Kembla. Mr Bell described the steel unit as like the original lunar landing module sitting in the water.

The waves' energy produces a vertical movement of air which drives a turbine, powering a generator. "Wave energy is quite an active area worldwide at the moment particularly in the United Kingdom and Portugal," Mr Bell said. "It is dependent on an appropriate level of wave activity. In the south-west it is quite good.

" Mr Bell said the plant would probably be near or linked to the Portland smelter. "Now this has been announced we will start getting more active about it and will start talking to local businesses," he said. "There is incentive and attraction there. We'd like to make it with as much local content as possible."