Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development
Abstract
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.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1660782
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-150723
Journal ID: ISSN 2077-1312
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2077-1312
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER; marine renewable energy; risk retirement; environmental effects
Citation Formats
Copping, Andrea E., Freeman, Mikaela C., Gorton, Alicia M., and Hemery, Lenaig G.. Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.3390/jmse8030172.
Copping, Andrea E., Freeman, Mikaela C., Gorton, Alicia M., & Hemery, Lenaig G.. Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development. United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8030172
Copping, Andrea E., Freeman, Mikaela C., Gorton, Alicia M., and Hemery, Lenaig G.. Wed .
"Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development". United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8030172. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1660782.
@article{osti_1660782,
title = {Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development},
author = {Copping, Andrea E. and Freeman, Mikaela C. and Gorton, Alicia M. and Hemery, Lenaig G.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.3390/jmse8030172},
journal = {Journal of Marine Science and Engineering},
number = 3,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {3}
}
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