The paper introduces the criteria which can be used to appraise technologies and approaches relevant to marine renewable energy devices. Existing mooring/foundation technologies used in the offshore industry are summarized with examples given of marine renewable energy device deployments. The guidance from certification agencies which is used for the design and analysis of mooring/foundation systems is summarized. If not addressed, the failure to optimize the design of ocean energy arrays and failure to properly understand economic, environmental, or reliability impacts of individual components could have significant consequences for the overall project and sector. The function and type of mooring and/or foundation system are determined by a number of factors including the cost, site characteristics, expected environmental loading and environmental or legislative constraints.

Partners of the project: The University of Edinburgh, Tecnalia, IWES, HMRC MCC, The University of Exeter, Aalborg University, Marintek, WavEC Offshore Renewables, France Energies Marines, Iberdrola, Vattenfall, DEME Blue Energy, Prysmian, Tension Technologies International, ITP Power, Sandia National Laboratories, Joint Research Centre, Ocean Energy Europe

Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union's FP7 under grant agreement n°608597.