Wave energy device ready for launch in Albany’s King George Sound

A government backed floating wave energy demonstration project is set to launch in the King George Sound off the southern coast of Western Australia.

The Moored MultiMode Multibody’ (M4) Wave Energy Demonstration Project is the result of a collaboration between the Marine Energy Research Centre at the University of Western Australia and Commonwealth-funded Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre.

Backed by a further $1.55 million in funding from Western Australia’s government, the M4 is now ready to be deployed in the King George Sound in Albany’s outer harbour.

Measuring 24 metres in length and nearly 10 metres wide – the length of an average wave within King George Sound – the M4 demonstrator consists of a hinged steel frame that generates energy from the hinging motion in waves. The whole device is kept afloat by four large buoys.

Set to be deployed in the middle of the month, the M4 demonstrator will operate for a period of six months, providing data to demonstrate the technology’s technical feasibility, including the potential to decarbonise aquaculture operations.

The project is part of a larger ocean engineering research effort to demonstrate the potential for Western Australia’s Great Southern region’s high wave energy density and reliable swells to be used as a renewable energy source.

 “This project will put Albany on the map for renewable energy from ocean waves and for innovation in a new, diversified regional economy,” Wiebke Ebeling, Albany project lead and manager of the Marine Energy Research Australia.

“This project is a testament to Albany’s potential as a global leader in clean ocean energy,” said Professor Christophe Gaudin, director of The UWA Oceans Institute and Marine Energy Research Australia.

“The M4 device is designed to harness the power of waves, and by making our data publicly accessible, we aim to drive forward innovation in renewable energy both locally and globally.”