CETO went down end-first about 250 metres from the shore off Rous Head, North Fremantle, rearing up out of the water much like a sinking ship, a spokeman told EnergyReview.net
“It went smoothly and CETO ended up within a metre of the position that had been deemed perfect,” he said.
CETO was launched at Western Australia's Henderson marine base six weeks ago. Over the next six weeks it is to be commissioned and start trial production of alternatively electricity and fresh water from wave power, with no fossil fuel input.
CETO was designed by prominent Australian inventor Alan Burns and developed over a three-year period by West Australian company Seapower Pacific Pty Ltd to meet the demand for energy from clean, alternative, available sources.
In February Seapower Pacific was taken over by Renewable Energy Holdings Plc, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange specifically to invest in cutting-edge renewable energy technology.
Dennis Kelly, managing director of Seapower Pacific, said CETO was a breakthrough in renewable energy technology at the right time, given the pressing world-wide demand to produce power and water from clean, alternative, available sources.
"Unlike other wave energy technologies that require undersea grids and costly marine qualified plant, CETO requires only a small diameter pipe to carry high pressure seawater ashore at 7000kpa (1000psi) to either a turbine to produce electricity, or to a reverse osmosis filter to produce fresh water," Kelly said.
"The prototype is expected to generate up to 100 kilowatts of electricity, enough for 100 homes. In desalination mode the prototype is expected to produce about 300,000 litres of fresh water per day."
Unlike other methods, which pipe water ashore before harnessing its power and lose substantial amounts of energy in the process, CETO captures the power of the water in situ. As waves move over the top of the unit, they press down on a disc that transmits the force to pumps inside, which deliver pressurised water to the shore.
Ceto’s other main advantage comes from its location on the seabed. Most other methods of wave powered electricity generation involve placing devices on the surface of the sea, where they are exposed to the damaging effects of stormy weather and could pose a threat to shipping. The fully submerged generators could also be used in areas of natural beauty, where offshore wind turbines or surface-level wave converters would be considered eyesores, said CETO inventor Alan Burns.
Wind-generated waves off the West Australian coast have a very high concentration of energy, according to Burns.
"CETO brings together technology developed over 25 years to convert this reliable source of energy into electricity and fresh water and we hope it proves to be the interim step to commercial production," he said.
In London, REH chief executive Mike Proffitt said CETO was an attractive option at a time when fossil fuel costs were rising and supply diminishing, while renewable energy costs were falling and supply dramatically increasing.
"REH will maintain close scientific, operational and corporate relationships with all parties involved in the CETO project," Proffitt said.
“This includes Australian listed companies Pacific Hydro and technology developer Carnegie Corporation, both founding shareholders of Seapower Pacific and now major shareholders in REH."
