A project to harness wave energy on the Chatham Islands has secured funding from the government’s Marine Energy Deployment Fund.

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today that Chatham Islands Marine Energy Ltd (CHIME) has been awarded $2.16 million for the project, subject to conditions including receiving resource consent.

The project’s two 110 kw turbines, to be installed on the south-west coast of the main island, are expected to be able to supply more than half the island’s electricity needs.

Mr Brownlee said the renewable energy project was “suitable for the Chatham Island community, which is seeking to reduce its reliance on costly diesel generation for electricity.”

He suggested that there was potential for similar projects in other isolated areas of New Zealand and in the Pacific Islands.

The Marine Energy Deployment Fund, set up in 2007 to provide capital grants to likely projects, is worth $8m over four years.

Crest Energy’s Kaipara Harbour project and Wave-Energy Technology New Zealand’s pre-commercial device, to be installed in Taranaki, have also received funding.

New Zealand has an estimated marine energy potential of over 7000 megawatts.