Michael Ottaviano, CEO, Carnegie Wave Energy

Were there any announcements in the recent budget that were promising for the ocean energy industry? We were encouraged by the announcement of the $652 million Renewable Energy Future Fund specifically targeting the development of new renewable technologies including wave. The challenge for the Government is to deliver this funding expediently into projects that are ready for development.

What do you see as barriers to this potential?

The wave industry’s focus is currently offshore in jurisdictions offering very attractive incentives despite having inferior wave resources. The risk is that Australia’s wave resource remains undeveloped as technologies are commercialised overseas and we end up buying back Australian wave technologies that have become owned by foreign companies in the meantime. It would be a missed opportunity not to build this expertise in Australia.

Colin Parbery , Chief Financial Officer, Oceanlinx

Do you see a bright future in the development and the implementation of ocean power technologies in Australia?

Oceanlinx foresees a bright future for the ocean energy industry. The industry in Australia is very small and limited to a handful of participants at varying stages of development. Oceanlinx is a leading international company in the field of wave energy conversion. We are the only company in Australia to achieve grid connection and the production of energy into the Integral Energy grid through a power purchase agreement. Oceanlinx is on track to complete the commercial design of the MK3 by late July or early August 2010.

What proportion of the Renewable Energy Target could ocean-generated power provide?

If Oceanlinx deployed its units in King Island, Australia, it could produce in excess of 70 per cent of the required power to service the island’s requirements. As for the total Australian market, ocean-generated power could service in excess of 30 per cent of the Australian total power consumption.

Gilbert George, Director, Ocean Power Technologies Australasia

Were there any announcements in the recent budget that were promising for the ocean energy industry?

The Federal Government announced that extra funds would be put into a renewable energy fund to compensate for the shelving of the Emissions Trading Scheme. We are not sure what form this fund will take but it could be expected that the ocean energy industry could benefit. I believe the Victorian Government is favourably disposed to renewable energy projects and the area around Portland is being promoted as a renewable energy region.

What proportion of the Renewable Energy Target could ocean-generated energy provide?

The huge amount of energy in waves, and the high energy density (meaning a relatively small footprint) means that technically the ocean could provide the majority of Australia’s target. Realistically, given the conservative nature of the power generation industry, and the early stage of development and commercialisation of most companies, a target of 500–1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020 would be a great result. Japan, where Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and OPT Australasia are closely involved with government and industry initiatives, is targeting 1,000 MW of ocean energy by 2020.

What do you see as barriers to this potential?

One significant barrier is that most technologies are still in the early pilot demonstration phase. Many of the issues we dealt with at OPT ten years ago are now being encountered by newer ocean energy companies as they seek to promote themselves and raise development capital from a conservative investment community. More clarity and stability on policies, incentives, targets and generally on the regulatory environment will encourage the large-scale investment in new technology (and ultimately in new projects) that we need to realise the huge potential of wave power in Australia. Governments at federal and state levels are quickly moving to improve these areas.