Marine power project proposed in Maui

Australia's Oceanlinx has announced it plans to install a 2.7-megawatt wave energy project off the northeast coast of Maui.

Previously called "Energetech," the company signed a memorandum of understanding on the project with Renewable Hawaii, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO).

The $20 million project is to include three wave platforms and could be operating by the end of 2009.

Each platform will suspend cylinders in the ocean with open ends facing down, trapping air in the top.

As waves pass the cylinder, the trapped air is compressed and forced out through a turbine, and in the trough of the wave, air is sucked back through the turbine and into the cylinder.

Oceanlinx uses variable-pitch blades, a variable-speed generator, and a complex control system.

The company recently completed a successful full-scale trial of its technology at its pilot installation in Port Kembla, Australia, and is participating in the U.K.'s Wave Hub project near Cornwall (see the Cleantech Group's U.K. plugs into Wave Hub).

The wave energy project is well-timed, as Hawaii recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, which aims to meet 70 percent of the state's energy needs with renewable energy by 2030.