Bristol-headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon has been appointed by Marine Energy Wales to provide legal services for a project that will test pioneering new equipment and processes in marine energy.
The firm will support the Marine Energy Wales team on a range of legal matters such as contracts, management of lease of areas of seabed from The Crown Estate, funding applications, research activity and development of systems and processes linked to the Marine Energy Test Area (META) project in the Milford Haven Waterway. 
Burges Salmon has a long history of advising the UK’s wave and tidal sectors and has been involved with many major marine and offshore renewable energy projects across the country, including Wave Hub, Minesto and MeyGen.
The firm has been at the forefront of developing the sector from the legal perspective, and lobbying government for support and the removal of barriers to deployment.
Burges Salmon head of renewable energy Ross Fairley said: “We are delighted to be working with Marine Energy Wales on this important addition to Welsh marine energy infrastructure. Marine Energy Wales already has a talented team of advisors on board and we are pleased to be bringing our legal skills and sector expertise to the project.”
META will involve the creation of a series of pre-consented, non-grid connected areas suitable for a range of component, sub assembly and marine energy device tests.
While some areas within the project will need to go through a formal consenting process including full EIA and Marine Licence application to NRW, Marine Energy Wales is aiming to have certain areas available for some test activities this year.
The £1.9m project is being supported by the European Regional Development Fund along with the Coastal Communities Fund and the Swansea Bay City Deal.
Marine Energy Wales brings together technology developers, the supply chain, academia and the public sector to establish Wales as a global leader in sustainable marine energy generation, making a significant contribution to a low carbon economy.
