An Australian company has developed a device described as an “artificial blowhole” to generate wave power.

Wave Swell Energy Ltd is developing the 1 MW project to be installed off the west coast of King Island, between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The device relies on the oscillating water column concept, in which waves move the water level within an artificial chamber, creating a partial vacuum and driving an air turbine above the device. The concept itself is not revolutionary, but Wave Swell Energy’s is the most efficient application thus far because it uses unidirectional flow.

"The difference with ours is now that we use uni-directional flow, in other hands, air flow simply coming in one direction past the turbine, whereas all other attempts have used bidirectional flow," said Wave Swell Energy CEO Tom Denniss in a video interview with Reuters.

The installed device will measure 20 meters by 20 meters and will be placed 10 meters below the ocean surface. Wave Swell expects to have the completed device in place in May 2018.

Denniss describes King Island, which has a population of approximately 1,800 people as of 2013, as an ideal testing site for the device. "The excellent wave climate there and the support of the local community meant that it was just an ideal location for us to use as a demonstration of the commercial viability of our technology," he says.

Australia has seen healthy interest in wave power development in recent years. Several wave farms are under development, including a 19 MW installation near Portland, Victoria and the Perth Wave Energy Project (PWEP) powering the HMAS Stirling naval base on Garden Island, Western Australia.

Image credit: Wave Swell Energy Image credit: Wave Swell Energy