Between them, the teams behind the test centres in Orkney and Cornwall have over 20 years’ experience developing and managing the sites, as well as supporting facilities and developers around the world. Their knowledge of leasing, licencing, operations and commercial activities will be invaluable to the Marine Energy Wales team as they seek to establish a test area in the Milford Haven Waterway.
META will see the creation of a series of pre-consented, non-grid connected sites suitable for a range of component, sub assembly and marine energy device tests. The £1.9 million project, which is being supported by EU and Welsh Government funds, along with the Coastal Communities Fund and the Swansea Bay City Deal, aims to provide early stage device developers with an easy access testing facility to de-risk future deployments and drive down the cost of energy.
META operations manager Joseph Kidd said: “This agreement demonstrates that the marine energy sector is a catalyst for positive cross-border collaboration across the UK. By working together and sharing knowledge we hope to create a project which will provide added value to the UK’s world leading established test centre network. We are delighted to have EMEC and Wave Hub Ltd on board as strategic advisors and we will benefit hugely from their wealth of experience.”
EMEC commercial director Oliver Wragg said: “EMEC has more than a decade of experience in the design, build and operation of its marine energy test facilities. The important R&D activity which has taken place in Orkney over the years has created a UK-wide boost to innovation in the marine energy sector.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Marine Energy Wales and Wave Hub in the META project, sharing our unique wealth of knowledge and helping to drive the industry forward, supporting further development of renewable energy”
Wave Hub managing director Claire Gibson said: “We have worked closely with Marine Energy Wales for many years and are delighted to be able to share our lessons learnt to further the development of META. As the seabed leaseholder for the Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone, Wave Hub Ltd has a real interest in ensuring META is a success as it offers technology developers a flexible space to undertake their initial testing before deploying at scale in the demo zone.”
Source: Company Press Release
