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www.sname.org/sname/mt July 2013 HE MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY MRE INDUSTRY IS STILL IN ITS INFANCY. However, industry leaders already have recognized that, to reap the potentially huge economic and social bene ts available from harness- ing the energy of waves, tides, ocean currents, and ocean thermal differentials, an inter- nationally recognized set of standards and guidelines would need to be established. Furthermore, they recognized that those standards and guidelines, once established, would need to be applied and upheld by reputable third-party certifying bodies so that other important stakeholders including project developers, regulators, nanciers, and insurers could contribute to the development of this promising new industry. At the same time, however, to enable innovation and creativity to continue in an industry that is still conducting applied research into the fundamental system responses of marine energy harvesting devices operating in a dynamic and harsh environment, these standards cannot be overly prescriptive. Standards are particularly important to the MRE industry because, at present, there are dozens of di erent technologies competing for very few ocean deployment opportunities and thus standards can serve as a fair basis for making technology selection decisions. In addition, model- ing the behavior of ocean energy systems is quite difficult when compared to, for example, wind energy. is adds another layer of complexity and uncertainty, which can be mitigated by the development and application of standardized resource mea- surement methods. Ideally, when applied alongside a well- designed certi cation process, standards can guide technology developers through each step of the engineering lifecycle and yield bet- ter designs while saving signi cant amounts CRITICAL ROLE Standards and certi cation in the marine renewable energy industry BY BILL STABY