Hi Everyone-
I thought the Sea Grant Renewable Energy listserv might be interested in
this report we recently completed for the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management on how to develop a monitoring plan for offshore renewable
energy projects (see press release and web link below) .
Best,
Michelle
--
Michelle Carnevale
Project Manager, Coastal Resources Center
Extension Specialist, Rhode Island Sea Grant College Program
Graduate School of Oceanography, The University of Rhode Island
Office: 401-874-6493 Web: www.crc.uri.edu & seagrant.gso.uri.edu
University of Rhode Island helps develop national environmental
monitoring tools for offshore renewable energy development
Any type of offshore development has the potential to impact the marine
environment in some way. Unlike with oil platforms that have long been
established in U.S. waters, there is much less certainty about how
offshore renewable energy technologies such as wind and tidal power will
affect the ecosystems in which they are developed.
Several federal entities collaborated to fund a National Oceanographic
Partnership Program (NOPP) project to identify potential environmental
effects that developers should monitor for, as well as techniques for
how to do so.
Recognizing that each proposed development and each ecosystem is unique,
the University of Rhode Island designed monitoring programs that can be
tailored to each development project for both during development and
post-construction. Researchers generated a "decision tree" to help guide
regulators in designing monitoring requirements depending on the
specifications of the project and its location.
Applied Science Associates, Inc., one of the project partners, also
developed software that provides regulators with a tool to help analyze
the cumulative environmental impacts of a proposed project. Regulators
input the data they have on the distribution of natural resources or
human activities (for instance, sea turtle and whale feeding areas, or
fish habitat) in an area where a project is being proposed, and the
software helps regulators compare and choose which site may potentially
have less of an environmental impact.
These monitoring tools and techniques were completed and delivered to
the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversees
offshore renewable energy development, in late 2012, and are helping to
inform the development of national standards for this emerging industry.
"Companies want to understand how to most efficiently and effectively
meet BOEM's environmental data requirements. BOEM is now better
positioned to answer that question," said Maureen Bornholdt, program
manager for BOEM's Office of Renewable Energy Programs. "As a result of
this project, BOEM is developing guidelines that clarify the information
that BOEM and other federal agencies require to adequately address the
impacts of offshore renewable energy projects to the environment."ÂEURÂ?
To learn more about this project or to download the final report, visit
*http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coast/nopp.html*.
This project was funded by BOEM, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The University of
Rhode Island, through its Graduate School of Oceanography, Department of
Ocean Engineering, Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant, and
the College of Environmental and Life Sciences, led the project. The
R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council and Rhode Island-based Applied
Science Associates, Inc. served as major partners for this effort. NOPP
is a collaboration of federal agencies to provide leadership and
coordination of national oceanographic research and education initiatives.
On 4/10/2013 12:27 PM, Christopher Bartlett wrote:
> Ocean Renewable Power Company has publicly posted their 2012
> Environmental Monitoring Report to FERC on their website. The
> document provides a good overview of the company's installation of
> their first tidal power system in Maine and the accompanying
> environmental monitoring programs for marine mammals, seabirds,
> fishes, etc.
>
> The full report can be seen here:
>
> http://www.orpc.co/permitting_doc/environmentalreport_Mar2013.pdf
>
> Chris
>
> --
> Christopher Bartlett
> Maine Sea Grant/University of Maine Cooperative Extension
> 16 Deep Cove Road
> Eastport, Maine 04631
>
> 207 214-7061 cell
> 207 853-2518 ext 105 office
> 207 853-0940 fax
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Chris Bartlett is a member of The University of Maine Marine Extension
> Team (MET). The MET is a collaboration of Maine Sea Grant
> and University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Its members live and
> work along the coast, providing educational and applied
> research programs to Maine's citizens in the areas of coastal
> community development, ecosystem health, fisheries, aquaculture, and
> tourism.
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