Australians are getting more and more of their energy from the sun and the wind - but what about the waves? Wave power technology has existed for many decades in lab rooms, but it is hoped a new trial off the Western Australian coast can help make it a commercial reality. However, the sector says it will need more government support as wind and solar technologies continue advancing at a fast pace.
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00:00This prototype is designed to prove wave power could be the next big thing in green energy.
00:07What you see behind me is what we call a wave energy converter.
00:10It is basically a device that transforms the kinetic energy of the waves into electricity.
00:15The M4 wave energy converter is being trialled for half a year off the coast of the city of Albany.
00:21Scientists and engineers have struggled in the past to create a wave energy generator that can handle rough ocean conditions.
00:28But it's hoped the M4 will provide power when wind and solar can't.
00:33Wave energy is very good because we are persistent, consistent and predictable.
00:38The wave energy industry says more investment is needed to bring wave power to a similar commercial level as wind and solar.
00:45But there are those questioning whether wave tech should be developed when those other forms of renewables are so far ahead.
00:52That now becomes very, very hard for any alternative energy technology, whether it's fossil or nuclear or another renewables,
01:00to achieve the scale of the solar and wind industries.
01:06Responding to questions from the ABC, the federal government was non-committal on whether it would invest more into wave energy.
01:13But the West Australian government has provided $1.55 million to the University of WA's M4 project.
01:21I'm confident there is something to that.
01:23They've also been working with the best and brightest from around the world on their research, on their project, so I think it will lead to something.
01:31Now it's up to this prototype to deliver the results needed in order to attract enough interest to develop this technology and to power the cities of the future.