MEP Seminar 2011

The annual  Marine Energy Pembrokeshire Industry Seminar was held at Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park on the 14th March, 2011. The event was a great success and attracted over 100 delegates with a working interest in the Marine Renewable Energy  industry.  The one day seminar provided a wide range of detailed presentations from Marine Energy Pembrokeshire , Welsh Assembly Government, RPS, Milford Haven Port Authority, The Low Carbon Research Institute, Tidal Energy Limited and a key note speech by Jane Davidson,  Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing.  Each session culminated in a riveting Q&A with lots of questions directed at the panel of presenters.  The programme for the event can be found here Marine Energy Pembrokeshire Industry Seminar Programme 2011 .

The Minister Jane Davidson not only gave an overview of the drive and commitment to move towards a sustainable energy future for Wales but provided details of two major advances that will help the Welsh Assembly Government meet its renewable energy aspirations. The completion and launch of a three year project that has mapped the marine energy resources contained within Welsh waters. The Marine Renewable Energy Strategic Framework (MRESF)– has resulted in five groundbreaking and detailed reports on marine development. The reports cover key environmental issues such as the potential risk of fish colliding with wave or tidal devices.

The project has also seen the development of an innovative and interactive mapping system that illustrates the energy resource in Welsh waters and the various levels of restraints that might obstruct marine development in certain locations. The findings show that even when the various environmental and technological constraints are taken into account, there is still the potential for Welsh waters to produce enough energy to power up to two million homes per year. The Minister said: “Wales is fortunate to have over 1,200 kilometres of coastline with significant marine-energy, extensive port facilities, a strong manufacturing and energy sector tradition and a Government that is determined to maximise green energy and green jobs. “The MRESF study has shown the huge energy potential that lies within our seas and has provided some genuinely useful guidance that will aid energy developers in their efforts to harness sea power.”

The Minister also announced that the Welsh Assembly Government and The Crown Estates have formalised their intention to work together to support Wales’ capacity for marine energy manufacturing and would jointly sign a letter of intent. This is the first agreement of its kind between The Crown Estate, the body that owns the seabed around the UK, and a Devolved Administration. It will ensure that deployment of marine renewable energy devices is not delayed by infrastructure requirements at ports in Wales, and will see The Crown Estate using their knowledge and expertise to assist Welsh ports in realising their potential.

 Session 1
Prof Peter Pearson from the LCRI chaired the event with the morning session seeing Tonia Forsyth providing an overview of the work carried out by MEP during the year. Helen Donovan WAG gave details of how WAG’s Economic renewal programme and 5 priority areas will create Marine Energy opportunities and Paul Harrington WAG/Nicola Simpson RPS then gave details of the MRESF project and its importance to Marine Energy in Wales. Presentations can be downloaded below.

Tonia Forsyth MEP Update
Helen Donovan WAG
MRESF Nicola Simpson RPS

Session 2
Delegates broke out into workshop sessions covering 3 main themes: 1 Environmental/consenting/licensing. 2 Supply Chain and Infrastructure. 3 Funding. A chair from each workshop provided feedback to the seminar covering the main issues and comments.

Workshop 1 Environmental/consenting/ licensing – Chaired by Dr Ian Masters Head, Marine Energy Research Group with panel members including Sara Thomas, (Development Executive Tidal Energy Limited), Dr James Orme, (MD Swanturbines), Dr Alison Williams, (Swansea University) Dr Wendy Dodds, Marine Policy Officer (WWF Cymru), Powell Strong, (Coastal and Marine Environmental Research Unit). Discussion points included the difficulties of a complex consenting regime; the need for good data and good models based on data; deploy and monitor; proportionality and data sharing.

Workshop 2 Supply Chain and Infrastructure – Chaired by Paul Harrington Renewables Policy Manager, WAG with panel members including Aled Davies (Skills Director– Energy & Utility Skills), Glyn Jones (Principal Pembrokeshire College), Chris Williams (Development Director, Tidal Energy Limited) and Peter Halstead (Halcrow). Discussions  points included - Wales (and Pembrokeshire) having the benefits of physical construction sites next to natural resource (excellent Port facilities quay access and lay down); however more deep water sites would be beneficial; Streamlining consents was fundamental to this as the process is costly and lengthy; A need for devices to get in the water to kick start the supply chain.

Workshop 3 Funding - Chaired by Neil Morgan (Head of Energy Technology Strategies Board),with Colin Lucas Xenos and Karen Griffiths Carbon Trust giving an overview of funding relevant to the renewables sector.  The workshop aims were to identify any barriers and/or options for funding. Discussion points included the need for a one stop shop for developers to gain information to funding opportunities; the need to get business plans produced to a high standard; the need for an independent test to ascertain which devices to back; utilities want to buy from the shelf;  there is a funding gap for projects in the 250k to 500k mark. Presentations can be downloaded below.

Neil Morgan TSB
Karen Griffiths Carbon Trust
Colin Lucas Xenos

Session 3
The afternoon session saw Dr Miles Willis LCRI cover the type of research going on in the sector at the moment and the possibilities to structure research to assist developers. Dick Moore MHPA spoke about how the Port facilities and skills would assist Marine Renewable Development in Pembrokeshire and Martin Murphy TEL commented on the attractions of the area to his company who are looking to deploy the first tidal energy device in Wales. Presentations can be downloaded below.

Miles Willis LCRI
Dick Moore MHPA
Martin Murphy TEL

If you require any further information on the seminar then please

The Seminar was funded and supported by