Carnegie scoops ARENA funding for microgrid project

Australian wave energy developer, Carnegie Wave Energy, has been awarded Au$2.5 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support the solar, battery and wave integrated microgrid project.

The Project will involve the construction and installation of a 2MW solar PV array, a 2MW/0.5MWh battery energy storage system and control system both to be integrated with Carnegie’s CETO 6 wave energy technology and existing desalination plant.

The construction of the project, to be located on Garden Island, is expected to begin before the end of 2016 and be commissioned in the first half of 2017, according to Carnegie.

It will also include augmentation of the grid connection and is supported by Western Power, the network operator who builds, maintains and operates the main electricity network in Western Australia.

Michael Ottaviano, Carnegie’s Managing Director and CEO, said: “The Garden Island Microgrid Project will be the first time anywhere in the world that wave energy will be combined with solar and batteries in a microgrid configuration. The demonstration of this microgrid project will help drive the commercialisation of CETO and will be a model we will roll out to island nations around the world.”

Ivor Frischknecht, CEO of ARENA, said the project is expected to demonstrate the viability of integrating a renewable energy based microgrid with a utility-scale distribution network.

The award of funding is conditional upon the completion of detailed design, award of the engineering, procurement and construction, and operations and maintenance contracts, approvals and permits, power off-take agreement and Department of Defence approval, Carnegie informed.