Renewable energy is a fast expanding sector, introducing new and innovative ways of providing us with energy for our homes. Following on from last week's blog about the first ever Tidal Lagoons which are set to be built in the UK, the world's first ever grid connected wave power station has also been switched on in Western Australia.

Wave Power Station

The Carnegie Wave Energy company have spent more than a decade of testing and demonstrations, but have finally turned on a pilot project which has begun feeding wave-generated electricity into a local Western Australian grid. The project has cost $32 million with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency providing $13 million of it.

Ivor Frischknecht, CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency said in a statement: “This is the first array of wave power generators to be connected to an electricity grid in Australia and worldwide.

Carnegie Wave Energy says its system is “different from other wave energy devices as it operates underwater where it is safe from large storms (and corrosion) and invisible from the shore”.

The company has named their technology CETO after the Greek goddess of the sea. The new technology converts the ocean into a zero emission renewable power and zero emission desalinated freshwater.

The round buoys are tethered to seabed pump units, which have been installed at a depth between 25 and 50 metres. When waves crash into the buoys, they drive the pumps which push pressurised seawater through a pipeline beneath the ocean floor to an onshore hydroelectric power station. Here, the high pressure water drives a turbine and generates electricity. Two out of the three buoys have been installed and will provide electricity to 2,000 households. Find out more in the video below:

Mr Frischknecht says: “During the testing phase, the first 240kw peak capacity CETO 5 wave unit operated successfully for more than 2,000 hours.”

The company has larger CETO 6 units, which are currently being developed and should be completed and ready for use by 2017. They are expected to have four times the power generating capacity.

We love to see new renewable energy projects, as it creates a brighter future and more job opportunities. At People With Energy, we recruit for the renewable energy sector, so if you're looking for job role visit our vacancies database.