Carnegie plans Vic. wave projects

Carnegie Corporation has received approval from the Victorian government to develop three wave energy projects on the state's coast.

The announcement is below:

Wave energy developer Carnegie Corporation Limited (ASX: CNM) is pleased to announce it has received approval from the Victorian Government to use and develop coastal Crown land for three wave energy projects, to undertake a marine surveys and to trial the CETO wave energy technology at Portland, Warrnambool and Phillip Island.

Carnegie Corporation's Managing Director Dr Michael Ottaviano said; "We are very pleased to have further options for the location of our commercial demonstration project and subsequent commercial projects in addition to our Western Australian and South Australian sites."

A recent report by RPS MetOcean commissioned by Carnegie showed that Victoria has an estimated near-shore wave energy resource of 18,000MW - almost double the state's total installed power generation capacity. Furthermore, taking into account the proximity of current power transmission infrastructure, approximately 20% of Victoria's current base-load power needs could economically be met by harnessing waves.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said the Government supported the development of a wave energy pilot in waters around Portland, Warrnambool and Phillip Island.

"The Brumby Government is taking action to encourage investment in sustainable energy by supporting new technology that can produce power with no carbon emissions," Mr Jennings said.

Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said the Brumby Government was investing to diversify the state's renewable energy mix.

"We have made $72 million available to support large-scale demonstrations of leading sustainable energy technologies, such as solar, geothermal, biomass conversion, wave technology and energy storage," Mr Batchelor said.

Carnegie Corporation has received approval under the Coastal Management Act 1995 to use and develop coastal Crown land for three projects at Portland, Warrnambool and Phillip Island. Initial feasibility activities will include marine survey activities, CETO unit trials, and detailed measurement of the wave climate.