Abstract
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), as the first centre of its kind in the world and as one of the leading organizations in the testing of commercial scale wave and tidal technologies, recognizes the importance of establishing high standards for environmental protection and an early understanding of the range and significance of potential environmental impacts. This will ensure that the marine energy industry considers environmental implications of its projects/technologies in the early stages of design and development, leading to best practice being carried forward into commercial scale developments. In addition, EMEC operates an Integrated Management System (IMS), which demonstrates a clear commitment to the standard of quality, health, safety and environmental (QHSE) management. The system has been developed to meet the requirements of the internationally recognized environmental standard, ISO 14001, to ensure the highest standard of environmental protection from employees, developers and those visiting the centre. EMEC have in place Crown Estate leases covering the marine test sites, together with planning consents for substations and associated lay-down areas. Developers have full and sole responsibility for obtaining any marine licenses required for the installation and operation of their device(s), plus any additional planning consents that may be required.