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The marine renewable energy (MRE; renewable energy captured from waves, tides, ocean currents, the natural flow of water in rivers, and marine thermal gradients, without building new dams or diversions) industry has a vital role in the U.S. clean energy strategy as we progress to meet U.S. electricity and blue economy needs with renewable, domestic energy sources. However, a thorough…

It is critical that tools for assessing potential environmental impacts are, amongst other things, fit to reduce uncertainty and provide sufficient confidence to permit decision. To address collision risk between marine mammals and tidal energy devices a simulation-based approach was developed to create a robust system that can adapt to any typical scenario and include novel device designs and…

Exploitation of the energy and mineral resources of the ocean is becoming an increasing environmental problem worldwide. Yet despite prioritization of this issue at a global level and although much research has been undertaken on the environmental consequences of offshore energy and mining activities, there is a lack of papers evaluating the need for an improved legal framework for these types…

Theguidance documentsare intended to be available for regulators and advisors as they carry out their decision-making and for developers as they prepare consenting and licensing applications. This country-specific document presents an overview of regulations relevant for marine renewable energy development in the United States. It is not intended to replace any regulatory requirements or…

This report, Deliverable 3.3 GVA Study (‘A study into the potential economic value offered to Europe from the development and deployment of wave and tidal energy to 2050’), presents results, analysis, and high-level policy recommendations concluding from the study quantifying the potential economic benefit, in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), to theEuropean economy of the development of ocean…

Governments are increasingly turning toward public–private partnerships to bring industry support to improving public assets or services. Here, we describe a unique public–private collaboration where a government entity has developed mechanisms to support public and private sector advancement and commercialization of monitoring technologies for marine renewable energy. These support mechanisms…

Injury and mortality of fish during downstream passage through hydropower turbines is among the leading direct impacts of hydropower. Understanding the relationships among various strike variables and injury and mortality rates are necessary for improvements in turbine design. We subjected three species of fish to simulated blade strike in laboratory studies with different blade thicknesses,…

The purpose of this report is to provide additional information to Marine Scotland regarding the Section 36 application to extend the boundary of EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site. Following a formal consultation exercise carried out by Marine Scotland, several issues were raised by consultees that must be addressed before further progress can be made.

To address the additional…

This Environmental Statement (ES), together with the accompanying Environmental Appraisal, Seascape, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, and Navigational Risk Assessment, constitutes the formal report of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitats Regulation Appraisal (HRA) requirements. This has been executed in support of an application for consent under Section 36 of the…

This study quantifies the potential economic benefit, in gross value added (GVA) terms, that the UK stands to gain through the deployment of innovative offshore renewable energy (ORE) technologies (wave, tidal stream and floating offshore wind) in domestic and international waters. The economic implications of increased and targeted innovation across the supply chain have also been quantified…

Theguidance documentsare intended to be available for regulators and advisors as they carry out their decision-making and for developers as they prepare consenting and licensing applications. This country-specific document presents an overview of regulations relevant for marine renewable energy development in the United States. It is not intended to replace any regulatory requirements or…

This thesis uses data collected over three summers in 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the Isle of May National Nature Reserve, Scotland to examine top predator presence and behaviour in a moderately fast tidal stream site. Fieldwork consisted of an intensive land based observation survey of seabirds at sea, acoustic monitoring of small cetaceans and the deployment of a suite of oceanographical tools to…

The Sustainable Management of Marine Natural Resources (SMMNR) project funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and Welsh Government has developed interactive environmental mapping and evidence packages for the following sectors:

Aquaculture
Tidal Stream Energy
Wave Energy

The evidence packages, which may be developed over time as new evidence…

Many fish species are threatened worldwide by overfishing, contamination, coastal development, climate change, and other anthropogenic activities. Marine renewable energy (MRE) is under development as a sustainable alternative to carbon-based energy sources. Regulators and stakeholders worry that MRE devices will add another threat to fish populations already under pressure. This paper reviews…

Past studies have revealed higher levels of biodiversity, total abundance, and size of individuals around offshore installations of renewable energy. This study investigated the effects of Lysekil wave power park (area 0.5 km2) on the abundance and carapace size of decapods at the Swedish west coast. For that purpose, decapods were caught with cages during four consecutive summers. Two types…

An accurate assessment of the hydro-environmental impacts of tidal range energy schemes, where the performance of the scheme has an impact on the marine environment and ecology, is crucial in optimising the design and development of such schemes. A proposal for a new coastally-attached impoundment, namely West Somerset Lagoon, has been investigated in this research and the numerical model…

Owing to their predictability, tidal currents are an attractive source of renewable energy. However, data on the environmental impacts, especially at array scale, are lacking. We present a spatial analysis of telemetry data, identifying the effects of the presence and operations of the world's first commercial sized tidalturbinearray on the movements of an acoustically sensitive marine…

Acoustic deterrent devices are frequently used as a mitigation method to exclude harbour porpoisesPhocoena phocoenafrom areas of potential harm, such as wind farm construction sites. However, there is increasing evidence that the devices themselves have the capacity to cause hearing damage. Here, we investigated the response of harbour porpoises to a 15 min sequence of 200 ms sound (peak…

A prototype three-frequency (114, 256 and 410 kHz) colour sidescan sonar system built by Kongsberg Underwater Mapping (GeoAcoustics) Ltd was described and preliminary results presented in Tamsett, McIlvenny and King (2016). Recent developments to the prototype colour sonar system are discussed, and new data acquired in a resurvey of the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, North Scotland, and in…

The development and utilization of clean and renewable marine energy sources will be a way for the development of economy. Although on a global scale the advantages of renewable energy are not in doubt, the impacts on the local environment must be carefully considered. The sonar devices could be used to monitor the underwater environment around the marine renewable energy device. In this paper…