Marine Energy Wales (www.marineenergywales.co.uk) has submitted an environmental scoping report to Natural Resources Wales and relevant stakeholders, asking for their opinion on the development of the Marine Energy Test Area (META) project in and around the Milford Haven Waterway.

META will see the creation of a series of pre-consented non-grid-connected areas suitable for a range of component, sub-assembly and marine-energy device tests.

The scoping report considers a mix of wave and tidal energy testing and asks for a formal opinion on what issues should be covered by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This report represents the next significant step in bringing META to reality, after site selection and feasibility studies began in 2017.

META is expected to be open for business next year, with specified activities accommodated in association with the Port of Milford Haven.

The report will determine which key issues the EIA should address and what environmental surveys need to be undertaken to enable the deployment of full-scale devices in 2020.

Operations manager Joseph Kidd said: “This is a significant step forward for META, which will fill the gap for early-stage marine energy testing in the UK.

“Combined with the £76 million Pembroke Dock Marine Project, it will place Pembrokeshire and Wales on the main stage for this emerging global market. With on-going support, marine energy could play an important role in delivering on a clean industrial strategy for Wales.”