Welsh META project gets operations manager

The Marine Energy Test Area (META) has strengthened its team with the appointment of Saul Young as a new operations manager.

Saul Young was previously project officer at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), and brings expertise in developing wave and tidal test sites to META.

In his role as META Operations Manager, Young will be overseeing the operation and ongoing delivery of the META project. This will include implementing an operations management system, leading business development activities, and working with developers to facilitate their marine renewable energy technology deployments at META.

Young brings with him a thorough understanding of the technical, operational, environmental and commercial considerations for marine renewable energy projects, gained through his work with EMEC and postgraduate study at the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) in Orkney.

This new post makes a great addition to the META team in Wales and will boost its capacity as a fully operational test centre, complementing the current UK test centre network.

META offers technology developers access to pre-consented test sites to reduce the time, cost and risks associated with site development and consenting.

It consists of eight pre-consented, non-grid connected sites located in and around the Milford Haven Waterway. The META sites offer a range of conditions that cater for a variety of testing scenarios, including component, sub-assembly, and scale and full-scale device testing.

META is in the process of finalising consent for a broad project design envelope and will operate for the next 15 years to support growth in this sector.

The £2.7 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.