Little progress on abandoned wave generator

The 3,000 tonne Oceanlinx Wave Energy Generator which was abandoned about 1.4 kilometres off the coast of Carrickalinga in March 2014 has been a continual cause for concern and frustration for the Carrickalinga Residents Association (CRA) and Yankalilla Council. After five years of talk and inaction, the State Government announced recently it was going to finally tackle this eyesore of epic proportions. Bill Chapman, Kim Baker and others on the CRA Committee have been placing pressure on the government and recently, once again wrote to David Speirs, Minister for Environment & Water and Stephan Knoll Minister for Infrastructure asking them why the government and DPTI would not remove the structure completely rather than partially dismantle it to be just one metre below the water surface. “Our letters, whilst acknowledged and replied to, only supplied us with a facsimile of what has appeared in the media,” said Kim Baker, President of the Carrickalinga Ratepayers Association. “There is no other long-term outcome from the government, therefore, we take it, the Carrickalinga Wave Energy Generator is a job the government never expects to complete.” Dismantling the structure to just one metre below the water surface is a strategy fraught with danger and creates the need to place permanent navigational beacons around a 100 metre exclusion zone (200metre diameter), making this a future legal liability with ongoing costs. Previously, it was announced anyone caught in the restricted area would be fined 1,250. The CRA have categorised it as a ‘job half done’ and in the interests of public safety and future liability, the CRA will continue to pressure the government to reconsider these decisions and implement a commonsense, permanent solution. Such was the case recently when David Speirs announced three new artificial reefs along the coast line. The CRA wrote to David and argued, why create 3 new ones when the one at Carrickalinga will go unfinished. The CRA are still awaiting a formal response. Late last year, the CRA aired its views with articles in The Advertiser, on Adelaide Now and in an interview with Sonya Feldoff on ABCFM. The CRA are continuing to keep the media fully informed of the their views on the matter. Bill Chapman from the CRA contacted Leon Bignell who in turn contacted the navy to see whether they would remove it as a ‘training exercise’ but the Chief of Australian Navy, Michael Noonan has ‘sunk’ that idea saying it does not qualify and lies beyond the support normally provided by the Navy. One more humorous suggestion from a ratepayer has been to turn the Wave Energy Generator into a seal café similar to the one in Port Phillip Bay. Letters were sent again late in February to Stephan Knoll, David Speirs and Leon Bignell advising them of CRA recent meeting and asking for responses, which haven’t been provided. A follow up was sent to Premier Steven Marshall at the end of February. The CRA’s endeavour is to continue the push to see the Wave Energy Generator permanently disappear.