The Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee has signed-off a detailed business case for the £60 million Pembroke Dock Marine project, which will now be submitted to the UK Government and Welsh Government for final approval.
Led by the private sector and supported by Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembroke Dock Marine is expected to be worth over 1,800 jobs and £73.5 million a year to the Swansea Bay City Region’s economy.
The project is made up of four elements:
- A Marine Energy Test Area (META) led by Marine Energy Wales within the Milford Haven Waterway, enabling technology developers to test their devices near their base of operation. META phase one was officially opened for business in September 2019.
- The Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone (PDZ) delivered by Wave Hub Limited for the testing of full-scale wave and floating wind energy technologies. Located 13 miles off the South Pembrokeshire coast, the 90 square kilometer facility would be the largest of its kind in the world.
- A Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence (MEECE) delivered by offshore wind, wave and tidal energy specialists ORE Catapult. Based at Pembroke Port, MEECE will be a collaboration between ORE Catapult and Welsh universities, providing expert knowledge for the marine energy industry. MEECE will also carry out life testing of marine energy components to boost their longevity.
- Pembroke Dock Infrastructure, led by the Port of Milford Haven, will redevelop gate four at Pembroke Port to create large construction and laydown areas for marine energy devices, helping meet the needs of modern industry. A supersize slipway will be developed alongside extension of berthing space for use by marine energy work boats to meet the demands of the industry as it continues to mature.