"We'll generate electricity at around about the cost of a wind farm"

Carnegie Corporation, which is planning to build a CETO wave farm on Garden Island, off the coast of Perth, Australia, has mentioned that it will generate electricity at around about the cost of a wind farm.

"We'll generate electricity at around about the cost of a wind farm. We'll be more expensive than coal and gas, the same price as wind and cheaper than solar," said Carnegie's MD Mike Ottaviano, according to The Australian. "The first one will be the most expensive but we'd expect within three to five years to be fossil fuel competitive."

The plans include installation of a Pelton Turbine, supplied by Swiss company Calder AG, and a Desalination Plant, supplied by Australian company Citor Pty Ltd.

Ottaviano heads Carnegie Corp, which has developed a method of using energy captured from passing waves to generate high-pressure sea water. This is piped onshore to drive a turbine and to create desalinated water. A series of large buoys are tethered to piston pumps anchored in waters 15 to 50 meters deep (49 to 131 feet). The rise and fall of passing waves drives the pumps, generating water pressures of up to 1,000 pounds per square inch (psi). This drives the turbine onshore and forces the water through a membrane that strips out the salt, creating fresh water in a process that normally requires a lot of electricity.

The company has locked in funding for the final stage of commercial development of its wave technology, under an agreement with British partner Renewable Energy Holdings. The announcement came just days after Carnegie signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Department of Defence to potentially build a wave farm to provide power and desalinated water to HMAS Stirling on Garden Island.