Wave Energy Tech Could Drive Down Solar Costs in Australia

WaveX founder Simon Renwick has told pv magazine that including wave energy in a solar farm’s energy mix could reduce its capital expenditure by 50%, according to the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre’s (CRC) “Ocean Wave Energy in Australia” report by the University of Western Australia.

“It does it for wind, it does it for solar, and it does it for wind and solar combined and that is an absolute game-changer that in my opinion has slipped under the radar in terms of the messaging around why wave energy is worth the hassle,” said Renwick. “Well, it is because it can have a profound effect on the cost of renewable energy because when the sun’s not shining or when the wind’s not blowing, wave energy is generally there. It has a firming effect and actually allows a deeper penetration of wind and solar because the three of them combined is absolutely more powerful than the sum of the components.”

WaveX aims to deploy a large-scale prototype of its D-spar Wave Power Generator, which will have 30 kW of capacity, or the equivalent of six residential rooftop solar installations, to generate clean energy.