Environmental Effects

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

“…The experience with examining risk retirement for underwater noise and EMF paves the way for a similar process to be readily carried out for two other stressors associated with the presence and operation of small numbers of MRE devices: changes in benthic and pelagic habitats and changes in physical oceanographic systems. Changes in habitats from MRE development is likely to be a manageable risk as the footprint on the seafloor or in the water column is relatively small [78], and the risks can easily be informed and evaluated on the basis of extensive knowledge of effects from other industries such as oil and gas operations at sea [79], presence of offshore wind towers and platforms [80], effects of cable laying [48], and a wide range of fishing activities. Changes in physical oceanographic systems can be realized by changing water flow around a bottom-mounted or floating turbine, as well as decreasing wave heights and other effects of removing energy from ocean water in the form of MRE generation [81][82][83].…”

Waterbodies thermal energy based systems interactions with marine environment — A review

“…Inc., 2014). Their spatial scale may have ecological impacts extending over several square kilometres, while temporal scales are both short-and long-term on marine environments (Gill, 2005, Iglesias et al, 2018. The magnitude of the impacts highly depends on the duration and intensity of the disturbance and the stability and resilience of the marine communities (Gill, 2005, Van Dalfsen et al, 2000, Lu et al, 2020, Drabsch et al, 2001.…”

Reviewing the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms

“…The ecological risks derived from the negative impacts of wind energy devices can vary biogeographically, depending on the environmental characteristics and vulnerability of the affected area (e.g., presence of migrating bird species especially sensitive to wind turbines 41 ). The identification of potential significant impacts is, therefore, always case-specific.…”

“…high spatial variability; it must be carefully assessed with respect to local conservation objectives and the affected species/ habitats 41 . Furthermore, environmental impacts will also depend on the initial state and resilience of the area, which can change dramatically for some ecosystem elements [42][43][44] .…”