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Proffitt progresses power plans

A Manx-based energy company run by a former chief executive of the Manx Electricity Authority has started testing a new wave power system in Australia.

The company has installed three submerged wave pumps off the coast near Perth to test the CETO II devices, which use the power of waves to force water through onshore turbines.

Renewable Energy Holdings chief executive officer Mike Proffitt (pictured) says the plan is to collect operating data for the pumps to pave the way for CETO III commercial scale pumps early next year.

The company also owns a landfill gas project in Powys, Wales, which is at an early stage of gas collection producing 1MW of energy, a level that is expected to increase as the landfill matures.

The CETO technology uses subsea buoys tethered to pump units. The buoys move with passing waves, driving pumps which in turn drive turbines.

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