Tenure was awarded by the Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change under section 138 of the Land Act 1958, to explore the potential for wave energy at the three offshore sites with a view to developing a commercial demonstration facility in Victoria.
Carnegie has been working with the Victorian Government since 2008 to secure seabed tenure and will now be progressing site investigations. Carnegie has also advised the Victorian government in relation to the Victoria Government Marine Energy Policy, which is currently being developed and aimed at encouraging new renewable energy.
Carnegie had previously been awarded consents under the Coastal Management Act 1995 to undertake marine surveys and trials at the three locations.
Michael Ottaviano, managing director of Carnegie, said: “We are pleased to have progressed our consents to licenses and now have a clear pathway to lease an area of seabed for a commercial project. These sites add to our Australian commercial site pipeline in WA and SA.”
According to a report by RPS MetOcean commissioned by Carnegie, Victoria has an estimated near-shore wave energy resource of 18,000MW – almost double the state’s total installed power generation capacity.
