Cleantechnica reported that an Australia-based wave energy company has received government funding to go ahead with building what would be the world’s first renewable energy island microgrid which would include solar energy, wave energy and energy storage.
Perth-based wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy Limited announced this week that it had been granted $2.5 million in support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to design and build the Garden Island Microgrid Project. This will be the world’s first wave energy integrated microgrid which will produce power and desalinated water.
The project will also include a 2 megawatt solar PV system and a 2 MW/0.5 MWh battery storage system. Together, the project will form a microgrid, which will operate either independently or together with the Western Australian electricity network. The project has the ability to seamlessly switch between the two.
According to Dr. Michael Ottaviano, managing director and CEO of Carnegie, the Garden Island Microgrid Project will be the first time that wave energy will be combined with solar and solar batteries in a microgrid configuration. The microgrid project will help drive commercialisation of CETO and will be a model that the company will roll out to island nations around the world. He also said that they look forward to completing the outstanding elements of the project that include final approvals, construction award and power offtake in order to go forward with the project.
With limited land available, wave energy generation supported by a reliable microgrid of battery storage and solar PV could be a better, more affordable and more sustainable way to power remote coastal or island communities in the long-term and decrease their reliance on traditional fuel for power.
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Featured Image Credit: Engineering for Change
Solar Trust Centre Team
