MORE than 150 delegates descended on Marine Energy Pembrokeshire’s fifth annual seminar at the Cleddau Bridge Hotel, Pembroke Dock, recently.

The event was chaired by Tidal Energy Limited managing director Martin Murphy and the minister for natural resources Alun Davies gave a powerful keynote address.

Mr Davies spoke of his personal commitment to remove the barriers which are preventing development in the industry.

“The Welsh Government is committed to unlocking the energy potential of our seas to help us build a sustainable, low carbon economy and drive green growth,” he said.

“To do this, we are working hard with partner organisations to tackle some of the barriers that are preventing our marine energy sector from reaching its full potential and to stimulate innovation in the industry.”

Marine Energy Pembrokeshire project director Tonia Forsyth reviewed the organisation’s progress in supporting wave and tidal energy. The industry is set to grow extensively and employ 20,000 people by 2035.

Speakers attended from The Crown Estate and the Welsh European Funding Office. Clean Reach CEO Stephanie Thornton spoke about how crowd funding could be used in the renewable energy industry.

Afternoon sessions with panel debates were chaired by Max Carcas, of EMEC, Johnny Gowdy, of RegenSW, and Sue Barr, of Open Hydro.

2014 is an exciting year for renewable energy in Pembrokeshire, as Tidal Energy’s DeltaStream project is launched in Ramsey Sound in August.

Mr Murphy said: “It is a really significant stepping stone, not only for our company, but also for the development of the marine renewable energy industry in Wales, this being the first grid-connected device to be installed here.”

Stephanie Thornton, former CEO of Ocean Energy Industry Australia, travelled from California to attend the seminar. She said: “This was the most positive ocean energy conference I have attended.

“In just one day there was a tremendous amount of information shared by industry, a real willingness to engage and I got a feel that Marine Energy Pembrokeshire was really moving forward in collaboration.”