ARENA & Ocean
Energy
Clean Energy Week 2014
Louise Vickery
General Manager, Renewable Futures
ARENA
23 July 2014
ARENA investment in Ocean Energy
to date
Research and
Development
CSIRO Wave Atlas
Resource
characterisation
Others
Array modelling and
environmental impact
studies
Deployment (Small Scale)
Biowave (oscillating wave surge converter)
1 unit, 250kW, grid connected
Carnegie CETO 5 (point absorber)
3 units, 2MW, DoD grid
Oceanlinx (oscillating water column)
1 unit, 1MW, grid connected
Deployment
(Large Scale)
Carnegie CETO 6 (point
absorber)
3 units, 3MW, DoD grid
Victorian Wave Partners
(point absorber)
Multiple units, up to
19MW, grid connected
ARENA has invested in a variety of projects ($21.3million)
o
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
o Resource characterisation
o Environmental impact studies
o
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
o Varying technology types
o Grid connection
2
Why do we invest in ocean energy ?
Potential of ocean Energy
o
Australia has great ocean energy resource
o
Potential forecasting longer range than wind
or solar
o
24/7 potential
o
Diversify Australia’s clean energy future
ocean energy is a nascent industry
o
wide variety of device types, few
demonstrated at scale
o
Australia’s Wave Resources:
CSIRO, Ocean Renewable
Energy 2015-2050
Australian companies/ingenuity combined
with ARENA projects will add to the pool of
global knowledge
3
ARENA’s ocean energy investment
strategy
Our projects will provide data on
o
ECONOMIC CASE
o where the best sites are for ocean energy
investments
o understanding of performance and project
cost
o skills and infrastructure needed to support
wave energy projects
o
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
o impact of wave arrays on ocean
environments
Technology/Area
Big solar projects
Bioenergy
Geothermal
Hybrid/enabling
Hydropower
ocean Energy
REVC
Solar R&D
Solar skills
Other
TOTAL
% of committed
funds
33.5 %
5.3 %
8.9 %
2.2 %
0.1 %
(5 -) 10 %
9.5 %
16.5 %
1.8 %
12.5 %
100.0%
ARENA’s portfolio and % of committed funds
o Managing risk issues
o
INTEGRATING WAVE POWER INTO THE GRID
o better understanding of how ocean energy
fits with demand
4
Lessons Learnt to date
WAVE PROJECTS ARE COMPLEX
o
Overcome harsh environment – the power of the ocean
o
Permitting/environmental impact
o
Logistics
REQUIRE TECHNOLOGY SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS
o
Undersea connections and cabling
o
Transportation to site
o
Decommissioning
FOUNDATIONS LAID FOR COMMERCIALISATION
o
Financing
o
Industry skills and capability
o
Customer base
Carnegie Wave Energy Buoy
ARENA CRUCIAL TO REDUCING FUTURE PROJECT RISK
o
Multiple possible points of failure
o
Exceptional project logistics and ocean engineering ingenuity and
experience
o
Risk management capability required
5
The way ahead – ARENA and ocean energy
strategy
Government stated intentions
o
Maximise existing project benefits and the $1billion committed to date
o
Existing contracts meeting milestones unaffected
o
Legislation required to pass Parliament
o
ARENA business as usual
Looking forward
o
ocean energy sector review
o
Consult with our existing portfolio, industry and related ocean bodies
o
Examine our projects in light of global trends and the commercialisation
Tidal resources in King
Sound, WA: CSIRO,
Ocean Renewable Energy
2015-2050
pathway
o
Continue to gather and share lessons learnt with the industry
6
Thank you
arena.gov.au