Bombora puts $180m capex on wave farm

Renewable technology company Bombora Wave Power says an independent study has confirmed the viability of its first commercial project, a 60-megawatt wave farm in Portugal, which it says will cost $180 million to develop.

Perth-based Bombora announced today the completion of an independent review of its mWave wave farm feasibility study, which confirmed a capital cost of about $3 million per megawatt of installed capacity.

The 60MW wave farm has the potential to deliver 80,000MW hours into the electrical grid per year, and is below Ocean Energy Europe’s cost projections.

“(The independent review) concluded the levelised cost of energy estimates for the first 60MW mWave wave farm range between €17 cents and €33c/kWhr,” the private company said in a statement.

“This compares to Ocean Energy Europe’s cost projections of between €31c and €58c/kWhr for wave farms at the equivalent installed capacity.”

Bombora chief executive Sam Leighton said the independent review confirmed the technical and commercial potential of the company’s mWave technology.

“It clearly indicates that an mWave wave farm can be competitive with other commercially successful renewable, such as offshore wind,” he said.

Bombora’s primary focus will be the construction and installation of a 1.5MW mWave converter early next year.

The $420,000 independent study was supported by $210,000 from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Arena chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said it was an exciting time for wave energy as the industry starts to mature.

“Wave power could, in the future, expand our energy options and ultimately build on Arena’s efforts to deliver a reliable, renewable energy future,” he said.

Bombora has previously said it has no plans to list on the ASX.