Abstract: Marine energy is a promising renewable resource that can contribute to global energy supplies and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. There has been growing interest in marine energy technologies from many countries. An example of this global interest is clearly demonstrated by the participation of over thirteen countries committed to developing international standards for this industry.
This paper discusses the global effort being carried out by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee (TC) 114. This committee was established in 2007 and mandated with the task of preparing international standards for marine energy conversion systems.
The current work programme of IEC TC 114 consists of five technical specifications that are at various stages of development. Over 80 experts, from thirteen countries are contributing to their development. Those involved in this process represent all facets of the sector including test centers, academia, utilities, manufacturers, certification bodies, etc.