A marine energy testing site can be made bigger following a variation of planning consent was approved.

The META (Marine Energy Test Areas) project was one of eight planned as part of the Swansea Bay City Deal with planning permission of the Warrior Way site to facilitate the testing and development of marine energy projects granted last year.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum applied to the county council for variation of condition two attached to that permission which would “allow amendments to project envelope parameters.”

The site is in the Milford Haven waterway, offshore from the Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park and encompasses an area of around 10 hectares and will “provide a series of non-grid connected marine energy test areas that would allow for the deployment and testing of devices, components and sub-assemblies, ancillary activities and equipment.”

Variation to the condition linked to parameters will allow an increase in the speed of moving parts, an increase in the rotor swept area to allow for up to three rotors, as well as an increase of total swept area to nearly 59sqm.

There will also be the potential for an increase in the height of structures above the water surface from <5m and an increase in the area of the mooring spread to 22,500sqm.

“It is recognised that the increase in height would result in a greater visual effect but this would be limited and would occur over a restricted spatial area. The change would be long term but intermittent and reversible,” a planning report states.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee approved the variation application at its meeting on Tuesday, April 5.