Carnegie Wave raises $7.5m, edges closer to Mauritius microgrid project

ASX-listed wave power developer Carnegie Wave Energy has closed its latest funding round after raising an impressive $7.5 million towards the commercialisation of its world-leading CETO technology.

The Perth-based company had hoped to raise $5 million when it announced the share purchase plan at the beginning of November, but due to demand has accepted over-subscriptions of $1.5 million to enable a wider base of the existing
shareholders to participate.

A further $1 million of commitments was accepted through a private placement undertaken with a select group of investors, most of them existing shareholders.

The success of the capital raising came hot on the heels of the news that Carnegie’s proposal for a high penetration renewable roadmap, wave assessment and microgrid design project in Mauritius had been endorsed by key government stakeholders and project partners.

Carnegie’s proposal, which follows on from an MoU with the Mauritian Research Council signed in June this year, will focus on three areas: the delivery of a renewable energy roadmap for Mauritius, including technical, commercial and financial feasibility of high penetration renewable energy; the assessment of the Mauritian wave energy resource and the identification of a preferred site for a commercial CETO wave energy project; and the design of a microgrid-powered desalination plant on the Mauritian island of Rodrigues.

After completing the world’s first grid-connected wave energy plant off the coast of Perth in March this year, Carnegie recently revealed plans to develop the world’s first wave-integrated renewable energy microgrid project to be connected to an electricity network.

As reported here, the Garden Island Microgrid Project will consist of Carnegie’s CETO 6 array, which is currently in progress, as well as the existing reverse osmosis desalination plant that is currently operating on Garden Island after being switched on in October.

The microgrid will also have an additional 2MW peak, of solar PV power generation, as well as sufficient energy storage to allow safe, stable and reliable interaction with the electricity grid.

It is hoped that the Garden Island project provides a viable commercial model for islands, and edge of grid and remote communities.