Wave Energy Research Centre

The Wave Energy Research Centre (WERC) in Albany, Western Australia, was founded to uncover the best methods for harnessing renewable energy from the oceans.

The multidisciplinary research undertaken at WERC is critical to finding cost-effective ways of generating wave energy on an industrial scale.

The centre received a $3.75 million grant from the State Government to establish the facility, putting WA on the map as a leader in offshore marine renewable energy research and technology.

More than 30 researchers from UWA work within the centre, collaborating with Carnegie Clean Energy to deploy a new type of wave energy convertor at a site 20 kilometres west of Albany.

The WERC has three main research programs:

• Coastal processes: looking at the wave and current conditions at the development site to successfully deploy wave energy converters.
• Hydrodynamics: working with the Albany Wave Energy Project to characterise the device-wave interactions and design the latest technology in wave energy converters.
• Foundation engineering: developing solutions to meet the specific requirements of the marine renewable energy industry.