Wales’ national marine test centre META has obtained its marine licence from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for Phase 2 of its real-sea testing project.
The move marks a significant step forward for the project, enabling META to support wave and tidal stream testing, as well as testing of floating wind components.
With these new services, the centre will act as a key innovation hub for research into wider blue economy activity.
META Phase 2 offers eight pre-consented test sites located within or adjacent to the Milford Haven Waterway, Pembrokeshire, for accessible, real- sea testing.
It also provides a dedicated facility for research and innovation.
With META aims to help developers deploy, de-risk and develop their marine energy technologies enabling lessons to be learnt quickly and cheaply and acting as a vital springboard for advancing devices to commercial operation.
It offers the necessary stepping stone needed between university tank testing and testing at array scale at the planned Morlais and Pembrokeshire demonstration zones.
META offers building infrastructure and capacity to both anchor this homegrown industry and continue to attract global innovators into Wales.
This Marine License issued by NRW’s Marine Licensing team, is the first licence awarded since NRW’s Offshore Renewable Energy Programme (OREP) was established.
The £1.9m project is being supported by the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government, alongside the Coastal Communities Fund.
META project manager Bethan Simes said: “This announcement comes as a culmination of three years of hard work and we are delighted to announce that we have secured our Marine License for META Phase 2.
“We now have eight pre-consented test sites covering a wide scope of test parameters and so can accommodate a range of devices and testing scenarios, and I cannot wait to start welcoming our first customers and getting kit into the water.
“The purpose of META is to reduce the time, cost and risks faced by marine energy developers to accelerate development in the sector, and this growth has never been more critical.
“META provides an integral stepping stone from tank testing to commercial projects, supporting ambitions for the UK to continue to play a global leading role in marine renewable energy and complementing the existing UK test centre network.
“I would like to thank our environmental consultants, RPS, for their support with our consent applications, along with NRW for processing our application and the wider Marine Energy Wales team for their support in this process.”
As well as offering sites for the testing of marine energy equipment, META will also support research, innovation and monitoring methodology projects, working closely with Welsh universities and the ORE Catapult led Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE).
Both META and MEECE are part of Pembroke Dock Marine; a Swansea Bay City Deal collaborative project which will develop a world class centre for the development of marine energy in Pembrokeshire.
This also includes the Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone and infrastructure upgrades at Pembroke Port.
The Swansea Bay City Deal is a £1.3bn investment in a number of transformational projects across South West Wales, funded by the UK Government, the Welsh Government, the public sector and the private sector.