The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon MP, and the Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, welcome the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Carnegie Corporation and the Department of Defence to investigate the feasibility of using wave energy to generate electricity and desalinated water for HMAS Stirling at Garden Island in Western Australia.
Carnegie holds a research licence with the West Australian Department of Planning and Infrastructure to deploy monitoring equipment at a test site west of Garden Island to assess wave energy potential and trial its ocean wave energy technology.
Minister Ferguson said: "The Australian Government is committed to ensuring renewable energy has a 20 per cent share in Australia's electricity supply by 2020. To achieve this goal, demonstration of new, renewable technologies is required on a commercial scale to help prove the technologies and attract further private sector investment.
"The MoU between Carnegie and the Department of Defence is a step in the right direction towards proving up the potential of new, renewable energy technologies such as wave power."
Minister Fitzgibbon said: "I am pleased that the Defence Department is playing its part in helping to deliver the Government's renewable energy objectives and looking to cleaner, more secure energy sources."
Mr. Ferguson said: "The Australian Government has committed $650 million through its Renewable Energy Fund and the Energy Innovation Fund to support the development and deployment of a wide range of renewable energy technologies including solar, second generation biofuels, and geothermal energy.
"The $435 million Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP) is part of this initiative to accelerate the commercialisation of new renewable energy technologies in Australia by demonstrating them on a commercial scale."The Government recently announced funding under this initiative will be brought forward to encourage continued investment in renewable technologies in the current difficult financial environment. Applications for the first funding round will open shortly and companies like Carnegie can apply for access to this program on a competitive basis.
"The program aims to stimulate more than $1 billion worth of investment in renewable energy technology, with the private sector contributing at least $2 for every $1 provided by the program. Funding will be subject to competitive, merit-based processes.
"By reducing the risk of commercial deployment, the program will accelerate widespread use of renewable energy technology in Australia and assist in meeting the mandatory renewable energy target of 45,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020."