A report prepared as part of the MERiFIC Project “Marine Energy in FAR Peripheral and Island Communities”The MERiFIC Project: MERiFIC is an EU project linking Cornwall and Finistère through the ERDF INTERREG IVa France (Manche) England programme. The project seeks to advance the adoption of
marine energy in Cornwall and Finistère, with particular focus on the island communities of the Parc naturel marin d’Iroise and the Isles of Scilly. Project partners include Cornwall Council, University of Exeter, University of Plymouth and Cornwall Marine Network from the UK, and Conseil général du Finistère, Pôle Mer Bretagne, Technôpole Brest-Iroise, Parc naturel marin d’Iroise, IFREMER and Bretagne Développement Innovation from France. MERiFIC was launched on 13th September at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and runs until June 2014. During this time, the partners aim to
Develop and share a common understanding of existing marine energy resource assessment
techniques and terminology; Identify significant marine energy resource ‘hot spots’ across the common area, focussing on the island communities of the Isles of Scilly and Parc Naturel Marin d’Iroise; Define infrastructure issues and requirements for the deployment of marine energy
technologies between island and mainland communities; Identify, share and implement best practice policies to encourage and support the deployment of marine renewables; Identify best practice case studies and opportunities for businesses across the two regions to participate in supply chains for the marine energy sector; Share best practices and trial new methods of stakeholder engagement, in order to secure wider understanding and acceptance of the marine renewables agenda; Develop and deliver a range of case studies, tool kits and resources that will assist other regions.
To facilitate this, the project is broken down into a series of work packages: WP1: Project Preparation; WP2: Project Management; WP3: Technology Support; WP4: Policy Issues; WP5: Sustainable Economic Development; WP6: Stakeholder Engagement; WP7: Communication and DisseminationThis report provides a comparative assessment of the wider planning, innovation and energy policy instruments relevant to marine renewable energy and applicable to the regions of Brittany in France and South West England. In addition to this, aspects of the wider institutional and political contexts in each country that have an adverse or positive effect
upon policies for marine renewable energy (such as regionalisation, devolution or European legislation) are covered when considered appropriate and of value. The intention of this document is to highlight best-practice policies and highlight
opportunities and examples of where these have been put into place both nationally and regionally within the two study areas. This work will then feed on to later MERiFIC documents, (specifically within work packages 5 and 6, concerning Sustainable Economic Development and Stakeholder Engagement respectively). The primary reference sources for this document are the two earlier MERiFIC report: National Policy Framework for Marine Renewable Energy within the United Kingdom and National Policy Framework for Marine Renewable Energy within France (Vantoch-Wood et al., 2012, Kablan et al., 2012)
