Australia must ride the wave of ocean power

Our dramatic coastline isn’t just beautiful, it also has the potential to accelerate the country’s rise into a clean energy superpower.

The power of the sea should never be ignored.

It’s a lesson most Australians learn as young children while wading in the shallows; turning your back on even small waves is rarely a good idea.

Yet as adults, it seems this is a lesson we may need to relearn.

As coal retires from our power system we need at least 90 per cent of the world’s electricity to come from renewable sources.

Wind and solar farms, once controversial, are now commonplace and an essential part of the energy mix. Yet the question of what happens when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine still needs answers.

Wave energy provides one of those answers.

What happens on a still night when solar stops producing and the wind is calm?

Look out to sea, the waves keep rolling in.

It is variable, but consistent and highly predictable – a unique feature among other renewables.

This is why Australia’s dramatic coastline isn’t just beautiful, it also has the potential to accelerate the country’s rise into a clean energy superpower. In fact, the CSIRO says we possess the world’s largest wave energy resource.

It is generation with near zero emissions and enormous potential. But wave energy technology still requires more development.

We are currently at a similar point in our development trajectory to solar PV and wind immediately before rapid uptake made them ubiquitous pieces of infrastructure.

Here’s a quick lesson in what we mean by wave energy.

Waves are formed when wind blows over the surface of water, usually over hundreds of kilometres of open ocean. Devices called wave energy converters capture this naturally concentrated energy from waves and turn it into electricity.

They first convert the kinetic and potential energy from passing waves into mechanical and then electrical energy, sending power to shore via cables.

And since 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean, the potential is colossal.

This means waves not only have incredible potential to be an important contributor to the world’s energy generation but also increase the resilience of our energy mix.

That is why countries around the world are racing to develop commercial technologies.

Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) forecasts a €53bn annual ocean energy market potential by 2050, supporting 500,000 jobs. Australia has the opportunity to be a key player, if we have the vision to take action now.

CETO technology uses a submerged buoy driven by the orbital motion of waves to propel a power take-off system that converts wave motion into electricity.

In Perth, Carnegie Clean Energy is among the leading pioneers with our CETO and MoorPower technologies. Our core CETO technology uses a submerged buoy driven by the orbital motion of waves to propel a power take-off system that converts wave motion into electricity.

Imagine an anchored buoy moving in the swell below the surface and sending clean renewable electricity to wherever it is required.

It will eventually supply cities, remote communities, offshore aquaculture and other offshore commercial facilities with affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.

Many countries, including Australia, China, Britain, France, Spain and the US, are currently developing wave energy.

Our Australian technology is grabbing the attention of these countries and many more. What we’ve developed and tested in the waves in Western Australia and overseas has the potential to harness the power of the ocean right around the world.

At the moment, governments abroad are leading the way when it comes to supporting the development of this technology.

Ironically, most of these countries have coastlines smaller than Australia’s with lower wave energy potential, but they recognise the opportunity and want to capture a leadership role in order to deliver the value to the environment and their economy.

As fossil fuels leave the system over the next decade, we will need all the tools in our toolbox to ensure a resilient and cost-effective grid.

The reasoning behind recent declaration of offshore wind zones in Gippsland and the Hunter makes similar arguments.

It isn’t one form of generation or another, it’s about acting on all of the renewable energy opportunities in our portfolio to get to where we need to be in time to make a difference.

It’s notable that the mature renewable forms of generation are now facing a supply chain crisis.

Almost none of the technology is Australian and a miniscule percentage of the components are produced here in Australia.

Those industries are now, quite rightly, attempting to back-solve the solution to domestic production.

Without it, much of the prosperity that is possible from these epic constructions will be funnelled overseas.

Australia has the opportunity to learn from this. With the right vision, Australia can support its local wave energy technology developers now and build an industry rather than just a customer base for foreign enterprises.

It is inevitable that there will be wave energy technology in the seas off Australia in the coming years.

It isn’t just desirable, it’s required.

The only question is whether we lead or follow. Will it be Australian technology, or equipment designed and manufactured overseas?

Our own CSIRO research also states that wave energy would make the grid more reliable and stable.

It’s all part of the central theme of the transition to our clean energy future – we need to act now, before it’s too late.

Jonathan Fievez is CEO of Carnegie Clean Energy.