Carnegie Eyes South American Projects
Wave energy developer Carnegie has provided an update to its activities in South America including the signing of an Agency Agreement with MAK Industrial Water Solutions (MAK Water) to act as their exclusive agent for South America.
Carnegie has been investigating opportunities in South America generally and Chile specifically in the past years through its local 100% owned subsidiary, CWE Chile. Chile is rich with opportunities for the renewable energy market, including having a world class wave energy sector.
The Chilean Government has previously supported wave energy feasibility studies including the deployment of wave buoys for site specific measurements. Studies have confirmed that the
wave resource ranges from 25kW per metre of wave front in the north to close over to 100kW per metre in the south and with very low seasonable variability (less than 10%). Carnegie has
separately carried out its own site assessment process which identified a number of suitable sites for CETO power and water projects.
The Government more recently established through its industry development arm CORFO (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción) an International Centre of Excellence (ICE) of Marine Energy. Carnegie was selected as wave technology partner in the winning consortium which was led by DCNS and Enel Green Power.
Carnegie is pursuing a number of relationships and opportunities to develop CETO wave power and desalination projects in Chile at present.
Carnegie has been active in desalination development for some years having first produced zero-emission desalinated water from earlier CETO prototypes and now from its desalination plant on Garden Island. The desalination plant is currently running off grid power and will shortly be integrated into Carnegie’s Perth Wave Energy Project. The containerised reverse osmosis plant used in this project is supplied by local Perth based water treatment company, MAK Industrial Water Solutions (MAK Water). Carnegie and MAK Water recently won the Australian Water Association WA (AWA) award for Program Innovation for this project.
Furthermore, Carnegie has agreed terms to act as the as exclusive agent for MAK Water’s products throughout the South American market. Carnegie will look to identify and
create water and waste water treatment opportunities throughout South America. This agreement was announced at the Latin America Water Week 2015 in Santiago, Chile in a presentation delivered by Carnegie which also provided an update on the CETO technology as part of the Water and Energy conference program (see attached presentation).
Carnegie CEO, Dr Michael Ottaviano, said: “This Agency Agreement with MAK Water for South America creates an opportunity for Carnegie to expand its business opportunities in an emerging market. Carnegie has developed a unique capability in technology commercialisation in the marine and clean energy space which combined with MAK’s strength in water treatment will create a compelling business opportunity in water treatment and desalination in South America.”
