The Marine Energy Test Area (META) based in Pembrokeshire, west Wales has been strengthened with the addition of a new Operations Manager to the team.  

Saul Young has joined the META team as Operations Manager. Saul 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, Saul 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

Saul 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 META’s 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. 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 allows developers to get equipment in the water quickly to progress innovative technology to commercialisation. 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.