META targets new marine energy clients for open water test sites

Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum, the legal entity behind Marine Energy Test Area (META) project, is looking for a consultant to boost deployments in the test area offshore Wales.

The Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum is seeking to appoint a consultant to undertake business development activities with the specific aim to generate leads for new clients and increase deployments within the META project in the Milford Haven Waterway.

META, Wales’ national test center, signed a lease with The Crown Estate in August 2021, launching the opening of its open water test sites.

The lease has been awarded for the operation of three marine energy test sites in and around the Milford Haven Waterway.

The test sites, offering moderate to high energy areas for operational ‘real-sea’ testing, include Warrior Way tidal site; Dale Roads wave test site; and East Pickard Bay wave and floating offshore wind component test site.

The tender for the application to the position of consultant for META is open until January 31, 2022.

The agreement to be signed between the parties will be for for months from the kick-off meeting where it’s anticipated the contractor will commit two days a week or 24 days/192 hours in total to the work package, according to Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum.

The estimated contract award date is set for February 28, 2022.

As Welsh national test center, META acts as a key hub for research and innovation – enabling academia to develop tools and resources to advance the sector, supporting supply chain to bring innovative solutions to market and allowing technology developers to deploy, de-risk and develop.