First onshore wave energy project in Asia eyes 400 MW of installed capacity

Eco Wave Power, a Nasdaq-listed wave energy company, has signed an agreement with I-Ke International Ocean Energy, a subsidiary of Lian Tat, for the first sale of its wave energy unit in Taiwan, which is expected to open the doors to the Asian market for the Middle East-headquartered player.

I-Ke will fully finance the initial 100 KW pilot project, acquiring Eco Wave Power’s turnkey conversion unit, which integrates all hydraulic and electric conversion components, along with a smart control system. The Asian player has already identified a site on Taiwan’s east coast for this pilot and pinpointed 83 other potential locations for future expansion.

Under the agreement, I-Ke will locally manufacture the floaters, hydraulic cylinders, and other components, while managing the necessary permits, licenses, and land consents. This initiative is expected to position Taiwan as a central hub for wave energy technology in the Asia-Pacific region, in Eco Wave Power’s view

Starting with the 100 KW pilot, the project aims for a gradual extension to a 20 MW wave energy station, however, the aspirations of a commercial capacity boost on the Taiwanese coastline do not end there, as the project will endeavor to achieve a scale-up of up to 400 MW of installed capacity. The partnership with Eco Wave Power stems from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Lian Tat and Eco Wave Power in June 2023.

“Taiwan is an island country with a coastline of 1,566 kilometres, with high potential for the installation of marine energy. The construction of Eco Wave Power’s project is relatively easy, and I believe that it will be a significant stepping stone for the development of green electricity in Taiwan. I also think that this will allow Taiwan to break away from existing renewable energy restrictions and develop in the direction of diversified renewable energy,” said CY Huang, Chairman of Lian Tat.

“As a result, we have already completed the site selection process and once the 100 KW demonstration site is built, with positive results, our target is to expand it to 20 MW, and we will continue to push up to more than 400 MW of wave energy installed capacity.”

Huang highlighted the establishment of a marine energy wholesale purchase rate of TWD 7.32 (around $0.23) as evidence of the progress, expressing confidence in the ocean energy development’s ability to further advance and transform the domestic energy sector.

“Taiwan is extremely suitable for the implementation of Eco Wave Power’s pioneering technology, as it has more than 1500 km of coastline, coupled with significant wave heights and very impressive local technological skills. Due to Taiwan’s impressive technological abilities, we plan to produce our floaters locally, thereby creating not only clean electricity from the waves, but also new wave-energy related workplaces,” stated Inna Braverman, CEO of Eco Wave Power.

“I believe that this new collaboration will not only be a win-win collaboration for both parties but will also serve as a pioneering step towards the implementation and adaptation of wave energy all over Asia, as this will be the first onshore wave energy array in the region. So let’s change the world together- One Wave at a Time!” 

Eco Wave Power is also working on other projects in different regions and September proved to be fruitful for the company’s American footprint expansion as it received a green light from the Port of Los Angeles for the engineering plans of its wave energy project which is being developed in partnership with Shell.