Naval base to go carbon neutral

Australia’s largest naval facility, HMAS Stirling at Garden Island in Western Australia will install wave technology as part of a plan for the fleet base to go carbon neutral by late 2013.
Carnegie Wave Energy have sealed a $31 million deal to supply power and grid connection to the defence base island using a grid-connected wave technology called CETO.
The tidal energy system uses fully submerged buoys tethered to the ocean floor. Using tidal movement, pumps are driven which pressurise water. The water is then delivered to the shore, driving hydroelectric turbines and creating zero emission electricity.
Brand MHR Gary Gray said the submerged system will provide HMAS Stirling with up to 1.25 megawatts of renewable power per day as well as supplying directly desalinated fresh water from the ocean. “It’s an excellent example of the practical application of clean energy technology,” Mr Gray said.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard commented that on completion, the system will save HMAS Stirling from producing 2.6 million kilograms of carbon pollution over a five year period, and that the project is the start of even bigger things to come.
“We should all be proud that this is Australian design, Australian ingenuity,” Ms Gillard said.