Environmental Effects of Marine Energy Development Around the World. Annex IV Final Report

Copping, Andrea; Hanna, Luke A.; Whiting, Jonathan; Geerlofs, Simon H.; Grear, Molly; Blake, Kara M.; Anna, Coffey,; Massaua, Meghan; Brown-Saracino, Jocelyn; Battey, Hoyt

doi:10.2172/1219898

Cited by 44 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The need to reduce global demand for fossil fuels, as well as increasing concerns about supplying the energy needs of isolated communities, support the need for a varied portfolio of renewable energy sources [1]. Marine renewable energy (MRE) can be a part of the solution for mitigating climate change and safeguarding energy security for national electricity grids and off-grid applications [2,3]. As of 2018, MRE contributed less than 0.02% to the total global renewable energy capacity, much of which is accounted for by the tidal barrages of France and South Korea [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the process of obtaining permission to deploy and operate MRE devices has often been long and expensive for the proponents [2,7,8]. This is largely based on significant uncertainty surrounding the potential effects of these systems on the marine environment [3,9], as well as uncertainty surrounding specifics of the consenting/permitting pathway. The regulatory processes that allow for the deployment of MRE are variously called "consenting" and "permitting" in different nations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frequently, little information is publicly available about potential environmental effects at a site projected for an MRE development; regulators expect developers to undertake comprehensive baseline and post-installation monitoring surveys to fill in these information gaps [2,7,10]. Collecting observations and monitoring data in high-energy portions of the marine environment suitable for MRE development is particularly challenging [2,3]. The assessment of cumulative effects of MRE development with other anthropogenic activities also concerns regulators and other stakeholders [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Risk is often expressed in terms of impacts or effects [16], with impacts considered to be deleterious changes to marine animal populations or habitats, whereas effects are measurable but not necessarily important or critical to the health of the populations or environments. Uncertainties around potential environmental risks need to be understood, acknowledged, and managed comparably to other maritime industries for these risks to be reduced and the MRE industry to move forward [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development

Copping

Freeman

Gorton

et al. 2020

JMSE

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Marine renewable energy (MRE) is under development in many coastal nations, adding to the portfolio of low carbon energy sources that power national electricity grids as well as off-grid uses in isolated areas and at sea. Progress in establishing the MRE industry, largely wave and tidal energy, has been slowed in part due to uncertainty about environmental risks of these devices, including harm to marine animals and habitats, and the associated concerns of regulators and stakeholders. A process for risk retirement was developed to organize and apply knowledge in a strategic manner that considered whether specific environmental effects are likely to cause harm. The risk retirement process was tested against two key MRE stressors: effects of underwater noise from operational MRE devices on marine animals, and effects of electromagnetic fields from MRE electrical export cables on marine animals. The effects of installation of MRE devices were not accounted for in this analysis. Applying the risk retirement process could decrease the need for costly investigations of each potential effect at every new MRE project site and help move the industry beyond current barriers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development

Copping

Freeman

Gorton

et al. 2020

JMSE

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“…However, many areas with fast flowing tidal currents, and therefore the potential for energy generation also contain diverse and abundant marine life. Concerns about environmental impacts have been raised during the consenting processes for proposed tidal developments, and many of these have focused on the effects on marine mammals (Boehlert & Gill, 2010;Copping et al, 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) around an operational tidal turbine in Strangford Narrows: No barrier effect but small changes in transit behaviour

Sparling

Lonergan

McConnell

2017

Aquatic Conservation

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Abstract1. Data were obtained from 32 electronic tags that were glued to the fur of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in and around Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, during the environmental monitoring of the SeaGen tidal turbine.2. This study provides the first detailed information on the behaviour of marine mammals close to a commercial-scale tidal energy device. The turbine did not prevent transit of the animals through the channel and therefore did not result in a 'barrier' effect.3. However, the animals' behaviour did change when the turbine was operating, demonstrating the importance of allowing for behavioural responses when estimating collision risks associated with tidal turbines.4. Tagged animals passed the location of the device more frequently during slack water than when the current was running. In 2010 the frequency of transits by tagged seals reduced by 20% (95% CI: 10-50%) when the turbine was on, relative to when it was off. This effect was stronger when considering daylight hours only with a reduction of transit rate of 57% (95% CI: 25-64%). Seals tagged during the operational period transited approximately 250 m either side of the turbine suggesting some degree of local avoidance compared with the preinstallation results.5. The results presented here have implications for monitoring and managing the potential interactions between tidal turbines and marine wildlife. Principally that the design of telemetry studies for measuring change in response to developments should seek to understand and take into account variability in seal behaviour.6. This study only looked at the effects of a single turbine rather than an array, and mitigation limited the ability to determine close range interactions. However, the study indicates that the effect of the turbine on Strangford Lough harbour seals was minor and that collision risk was reduced by the behaviour of the seals.

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Consenting and Legal Aspects

O’Hagan

2018

Wave and Tidal Energy

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Environmental Effects of Marine Energy Development Around the World. Annex IV Final Report

Cited by 44 publications

References 44 publications

Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development

Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) around an operational tidal turbine in Strangford Narrows: No barrier effect but small changes in transit behaviour

Consenting and Legal Aspects

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