Clean Energy Future

Can you image nature generating enough energy to power a city of more than four-million people?

It might be possible one day—by harnessing the power of the ocean.

CSIRO modelling predicts that wave energy could play a large part in Australia’s future energy mix.

A CSIRO study, released recently, revealed that our ocean waves have the potential to power a city the size of Melbourne by 2050.

According to CSIRO’s Ocean renewable energy: 2015-2050 report, Australia’s ocean waves could supply about 10 per cent of Australia’s electricity by 2050.

The study was carried out by the ‘Wealth from Oceans and Energy Transformed Flagships’ and included an analysis of waves as a resource, the cost of generating power from wave energy and bringing it to the market, and the available technologies and future take-up predictions by oceanographers, engineers, economists.

The study also engaged the ocean energy industry and related sectors.

The study found that, while the prospects for tidal and ocean flow technology are less promising, wave power remains potentially the single greatest ocean renewable energy (ORE) resource.

Areas of Australia that could benefit from wave energy technology include Perth, the southern coastline and, to a lesser extent, the east coast of Australia.

The CSIRO is planning more research into wave power in the future.