An grant of NZ$760,000 has been awarded to the WET-NZ wave energy project it was announced today (19th May), by the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.  The project, put together by Power Projects Ltd and Industrial Research Ltd, is the second to gain funding from the New Zealand government's NZ$8 million Marine Energy Deployment Fund.

Commenting on the award EECA chief executive Mike Underhill said; "New Zealand has some of the best marine energy resources in the world. This fund is a way of finding out how we can make the most of that resource.

"In what is a rapidly growing global industry with more than 200 companies developing marine energy technology, the fund allows New Zealand to compete on the world stage, by getting marine energy devices into the water to prove their potential."

The WET-NZ project involves constructing and deploying a pre-commercial, half-scale device with a peak capacity of 20 kilowatts.

"It will be primarily designed and manufactured in New Zealand, and will be deployed in New Zealand waters", explained Underhill.

"By supporting fledgling marine energy projects like this one, we can in time further diversify our energy supply, and support our combined goals of improving security of supply and generating more electricity from renewable sources.

"I congratulate WET-NZ for their successful application and wish them well in now going ahead and developing their proposal," Underhill concluded.