WORK on the state’s first wave energy project has begun off the coast of Port Fairy, with a prototype to be installed later this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The $21 million pilot is designed to test the waters for full commercialisation of an invention called bioWAVE, developed by renewable energy technology company BioPower Systems.
The prototype, a 26-metre steel structure, was built at the Sydney-based company's plant and will be shipped to its site, five kilometres west of Port Fairy, for installation in November.
The unit operates by swaying mostly below the ocean surface. It will only be visible if it breaks the surface during the trough of a wave.
BioPower won $11 million in federal funding for the project through the ARENA program which supports renewable energy technology.
ARENA chief executive officer Ivor Frischknecht said BioPower had worked on the technology since 2006, taking it through a research and development phase to full-scale demonstration.
"The design was inspired by undersea plants and the entire device can lie flat on the seabed out of harm's way during bad weather," Mr Frischknecht said.
"The oscillating motion activates hydraulic cylinders to spin a generator, with the power transported to the shore via a subsea cable."
Onshore electrical equipment has been installed and divers are working on subsea power and data cables. The bioWAVE is expected to feed 250 kilowatts of renewable energy into the national grid.
Mr Frischknecht said the Port Fairy site "ticked all the right boxes" with its depth and wave action, backing by a neighbouring land owner and Moyne Shire and proximity to the power grid.
The prototype will operate for at least 12 months with continual testing and an independent final assessment.
Mr Frischknecht said the project came with a huge number of challenges such as corrosion, leaks and maintenance issues.
"Even just getting it there is an issue. We're hopeful the device gets in place properly and safely."
Data from the trial will help the company develop a larger, one-megawatt, commercial-scale bioWAVE unit.
Mr Frischknecht said the technology could be used across the world in areas with good wave resources including southern Australia, Scotland, Patagonia and islands where opportunities for other renewable energies were unavailable.
