RME CEO Bill Staby has been active in the development of Conformity Assessment protocols for the marine renewable energy industry since the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) agreed with industry stakeholders that the renewable energy industry (wind, solar and marine) had unique conformity assessment needs. Accordingly, in 2014 the IEC Conformity Assessment Board (CAB) created a separate conformity assessment system, called IECRE, and established dedicated operational management committees focused on wind, solar and marine
The purpose of the Marine Energy Operational Management Committee (ME-OMC) is to develop, maintain, and implement the Rules and Operational Procedures of the IECRE Schemes that are specific to, or impact, the Marine Energy Sector and that support the uniform application of relevant international standards used by certification bodies, test laboratories, equipment suppliers, end users and the broad stakeholder community
Mr. Staby is Chairman of the ME-OMC Finance committee and is a Member of its Rules of Procedure committee
Mr. Staby commented; “absent an internationally-recognized system for conformity assessment, independent certification bodies and test laboratories like Bureau Veritas, Lloyds, DnV GL, Class NK and American Bureau of Shipping cannot provide the certifications that insurance companies and financiers need to underwrite and financially support marine renewable energy projects. Now that standards and technical specifications are being published by IEC TC 114, this critical next step in the commercialization of marine renewable energy technologies and projects is now underway.”
Photo: The ME-OMC Rules of Procedure committee at a meeting held at the headquarters of Bureau Veritas in Paris on January 17–18, 2017.
From left to right: Pieter Scheijgrond (MET-Support BV), Jonathan Colby (Verdant Power), John Griffiths (EMEC), Rebecca Sykes (Lloyd’s Register), Bill Staby (Resolute Marine), Laura-Mae Macadre (Bureau Veritas). Not present: Peter Davies (Lloyd’s Register)