Blog: Review of standards for marine renewables

Standards and guidelines are fundamental to the development of the marine renewable sector.

In 2009, we released a suite of 12 marine renewables standards and guidelines covering assessment of energy resources, performance of devices, guidelines for certification, grid connection, tank testing, and project development. More than 4,000 copies of these documents have been distributed worldwide, with 6 of these being progressed via the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for global adoption as the first international standards for marine renewable energy.

As with any standards, it is important that these documents are reviewed regularly and the need for new standards identified.

Therefore, earlier this year we were funded by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult) to collaborate in a project to undertake a review of the existing standards and guidelines available for the marine renewable industry, identifying areas requiring updating or for which new standards/guidelines may be required. This was achieved by running an industry-wide workshop event in March 2014, attended by over 50 representatives from a wide range of industry groups including technology developers, industry consultants, test centres, and representatives from Government agencies, academia, and trade bodies.

Four areas previously raised by the industry as possible topics for new guidelines were distributed as draft summary scopes in advance of the workshop, then presented and discussed in greater detail during the workshop and breakout sessions. In addition, several topics for potential development of new guidelines were identified by delegates during workshop discussions.

The full report from the workshop is now available to read online: Review of Standards/Guidelines for Marine Renewables (Wave & Tide), July 2014.

Further details on the workshop are available here: EMEC Marine Renewables Standards Workshop, March 2014