Carnegie Wave set to install 2nd CETO 5 unit, connect to grid

Western Australian wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy says the second of its home-grown CETO 5 units is ready for deployment south of Perth, and will soon be connected to the grid, after the successful operation of the first unit.

Carengie Wave’s first of three 240kW CETO 5 Units was installed last month off Garden Island, near Perth, as part of what will be the world’s first multi-machine wave energy installation – as well as a key test run for the company’s full size 1MW CETO 6 units – and has now been operating successfully for approximately 700 hours.

The ASX-listed company said the Garden Island CETO 5 unit had experienced a range of ocean conditions, including waves up to 3.8 metres in height, and continued to perform in line with expectations.

Following this initial operating period, approval to connect to the grid has been received from Western Power, who maintain and operate the electricity network in Perth.Meanwhile, works continued onshore with the assembly and testing on the second CETO 5 Unit at Henderson, where grid connection and installation will occur in the coming weeks.

In the interim, the system is generating power against a load bank onshore.

“We’re delighted with the performance of the first CETO 5 Unit through this initial operation phase,” said Carnegie managing director Michael Ottaviano.

“The next step is to deploy the second CETO 5 Pod and Unit and then grid connection of the system. We will assess the need to retrieve and inspect the first CETO 5 Unit.”