Carnegie Wave Energy informed that the conceptual design phase of its CETO 6 Project at Garden Island has now been completed.

This CETO 6 design delivers a number of advantages over previous CETO generations including an approximate four times increase in rated capacity to 1MW, the removal of heavy offshore lifts, simplified installation and maintenance and more advanced control systems, the company said.

The system locates the power generation (power take off or PTO) inside a contained vessel (Pod) inside the Buoyant Actuator (BA). Locating the PTO inside the Buoyant Actuator allows more advanced control increasing system efficiency.

The use of an electrical export cable (or umbilical) to deliver the power onshore also reduces transmission losses when compared to the use of a pipeline with high pressure fluid as used in the Perth Wave Energy Project’s CETO 5 technology generation, Carnegie explained.

The concept design phase covered hydrodynamic modelling, wave tank testing, electrical topology, offshore site studies, grid connection, instrumentation and controls, power take off architecture, installation and maintenance philosophies and tether and mooring options.

CETO 6 Project Design Layout

The wave tank testing of scale CETO 6 models at FloWave in Edinburgh, United Kingdom formed an important part of the overall concept design as these tests, along with PWEP results, confirmed that the targeted 1MW nominal unit capacity was achievable, the company noted.

The offshore geophysical survey activties for the Project are complete, with a preferred Project site having been identified some 10km offshore from Garden Island. The geophysical survey results, along with the concept design results, feed directly into the detailed design of the Project. Detailed design is targeted for completion in mid-2016.