Wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy Limited hosted former Japanese Prime Minister Mr Naoto Kan this morning at its Fremantle Wave Energy Research Facility.
Japan has the potential to host a significant capacity of wave power projects, with approximately 34,000km of coastline and a wave energy resource capable of generating up to 40GW of clean, renewable energy.
Since the Fukushima disaster, which occurred when Mr Kan was Prime Minister, Japan has installed nearly 9GW (9,000 MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) power second only to China globally (Australia has approximately 3,500MW installed solar PV). However, with a population of 130,000,000, requiring a total installed power generation capacity of some 250GW (250,000 MW), a mix of renewables will be required to meet demand.
Mr Kan commented:
“Visiting Carnegie today allowed me to learn about the potential for wave power in the alternative energy market. In Japan, it is more important than ever for us to look at renewable energy in order to move away from nuclear power.
I can see significant potential in Carnegie’s CETO 6 technology for the Japanese market – the offshore generation aspect and the fact that is a transportable technology makes it very appealing.”