| Operations |
Offshore Port Kembla Operations, New South Wales, AustraliaPort Kembla is about 60 km South of Oceanlinx Botany offices and the site for much of the physical development work.
Mk1 Full Scale Prototype
The Oceanlinx Mk1 full scale prototype was fitted out and first deployed in 2005. The approximately 500 tonne device uses a parabolic wall to concentrate the wave energy into its 100 square metre Oscillating Water Chamber (OWC). A rise of the wave within the OWC drives a column of air past a Denniss-Auld turbine and induction generator. As the wave recedes the column of air is drawn back into the OWC after passing the Denniss-Auld turbine.
The Mk1 Full Scale prototype was one of the first full scale wave energy devices in the world. Its operation over the last few years had provided invaluable test and operational data guiding the development of subsequent designs.
The Mk1 Full Scale prototype has completed its function and will be decommissioned during the second half of 2009, ending a watershed period in the company’s history.
 Google Earth Satellite Image: Mk1 – Full scale prototype
Mk2 1/3 Scale
Oceanlinx built and deployed an instrumented 1/3rd scale test unit of its Mk2 device in late 2007 and early 2008. The purpose of the Mk2 Third Scale was to obtain detailed technical data for floating devices.
 Google Earth Satellite Image: Mk2 – One third scale prototype
Mk3 Pre Commercial
Port Kembla is the site of Oceanlinx's latest wave energy converter design – the Mk3 Pre-Commercial. The Mk3 Pre-Commercial, or Mk3PC for short, is a demonstration scale device that is identifiably similar to the fully commercial Mk3 design, but is constrained in its life, operations, and scale to suit both the environment at Port Kembla and its purpose as a demonstration of the technology.
The Mk3PC was installed at Port Kembla on 26 February 2010, about 100 metres off the eastern breakwater of Port Kembla Harbour. It was connected to the grid and has been providing electricity since 19 March 2010 to customers of local retailer, Integral Energy. The Mk3PC is believed to be the first of its size in Australia to be grid connected, and one of the first in the world.
 Mk3 Design Sketches MK3PC installed at Port Kembla
The official launch of the MK3PC project took place on 29 March 2010 in Port Kembla and was attended by a variety of dignitaries, including four Australian Federal and State MPs. The plaque commemorating the event was unveiled by The Honourable Peter Garrett, Federal Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia.
While the Mk3PC has been designed for a shorter than normal design life, it serves the very important and specific function of verifying the performance of the Oceanlinx Mk3 in open ocean conditions, as well as its ability to provide acceptable grid-quality power to an established electricity retailer. The Mk3PC immediately proved successful in achieving these aims, and has already validated the ability of the full scale MK3 design to be rated at 2.5 MW.
Images from the Launch Ceremony, 29 March 2010
MK3PC Performs Better Than Expected
Results from the one-third scale model of the Oceanlinx floating wave energy technology, dubbed the MK3PC, have exceeded expectations in regard to performance. The unit was deployed for three months, from February to May, 2010, and operated successfully during that time as one of the world’s first grid-connected generators of electricity from ocean waves.
Although the MK3PC unit did break free of its moorings in extreme sea conditions on May 14, several weeks prior to its planned decommissioning, it had provided ample performance data up till that time. Independent electrical generation data supplied by the power off-taker, Integral Energy, has validated the 2.5 MW rated design of the full scale device. The unit was operated with both the Oceanlinx proprietary turbine and a third party turbine, and produced consistent grid-quality electricity that was supplied to local Integral customers in the Illawarra region.
Overall, the performance and grid connection of the MK3PC device was a major success. The cause of the earlier than expected cessation of operations was confined to the mooring ropes giving way in high seas, and the reasons for this are being investigated.
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