Oceanlinx seeks funds for wave power tests  

The Australian reports that wave power company Oceanlinx is looking for investors to fund their latest device - Oceanlinx seeks funds.

ENEWABLE energy company Oceanlinx expects to finalise a new round of funding in the next few weeks as it looks to install a demonstration-sized unit of the latest model of its wave energy converters at its Port Kembla facility in coming months.

New CEO Ali Baghaei says design improvements mean the Mark III model will be able to capture several times as much energy as the first unit, originally deployed in 2005, and will have a capacity in excess of 2.5Mw, making it the largest of any ocean energy unit being developed in Australia.

Baghaei expects that, within 10 years, the company will be able to produce a single project of more than 200Mw that is able to compete "with the best renewable energy" in costs per kilowatt hour.

Oceanlinx is seeking to raise "tens of millions" in its latest round of funding, with much of the interest coming from Europe, along with some strategic investors in Australia. However, Baghaei says fundraising is not easy, as most money in the current climate is directed towards "low-risk" technologies such as wind, which will be well supported by the planned Renewable Energy Target.

He notes that support from Australian energy utilities seems conditional on the level of government support. "Overseas utilities are much more receptive," he says.