Luke A. Hanna

Environmental Risk Evaluation System—an Approach to Ranking Risk of Ocean Energy Development on Coastal and Estuarine Environments

The pressure to develop new and renewable forms of energy to combat climate change, ocean acidification, and energy security has encouraged exploration of sources of power generation from the ocean. One of the major challenges to deploying these devices is discerning the likely effects those devices and associated systems will have on the marine environment. Determining the effects each device design and deployment system may have on specific marine animals and habitats, estimating the extent of those effects upon the resiliency of the ecosystem, and designing appropriate mitigation measures to protect against degradation all pose substantial challenges. With little direct observational or experimental data available on the effects of wave, tidal, and offshore wind devices on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes, researchers have developed the Environmental Risk Evaluation System (ERES) to provide preliminary assessments of these risks and to act as a framework for integrating future data on direct interactions of ocean energy devices with the environment. Using biophysical risk factors, interactions of marine animals and seabirds, with ocean energy devices and systems, are examined; potential effects on habitats, and changes in processes such as sedimentation patterns and water quality, are also considered. The risks associated with specific interactions for which data are more readily available are explored including interactions between ocean energy devices and surface vessels, toxicity of anti-biofouling paints, and potential for harm to animals from turbine blade strike. ERES also examines the effect that environmental regulations have on the deployment and operation of ocean energy devices.

Sharing Information on Environmental Effects of Wind Energy Development: WREN Hub

As the need for clean low carbon renewable energy increases worldwide, wind energy is becoming established in many nations and is under consideration in many more. Technologies that make land-based and offshore wind feasible, and resource characterizations of available wind, have been developed to facilitate the advancement of the wind industry. However, there is a continuing need to also evaluate and better understand the legal and social acceptability associated with potential effects on the environment. Uncertainty about potential environmental effects continues to complicate and slow permitting (consenting) processes in many nations. Research and monitoring of wildlife interactions with wind turbines, towers, and transmission lines has been underway for decades. However, the results of those studies are not always readily available to all parties, complicating analyses of trends and inflection points in effects analyses. Sharing of available information on environmental effects of land-based and offshore wind energy development has the potential to inform siting and permitting/consenting processes. WREN Hub is an online knowledge management system that seeks to collect, curate, and disseminate scientific information on potential effects of wind energy development. WREN Hub acts as a platform to bring together the wind energy community, providing a collaborative space and an unbiased information source for researchers, regulators, developers, and key stakeholders to pursue accurate predictions of potential effects of wind energy on wildlife, habitats, and ecosystem processes. In doing so, WREN Hub ensures that key scientific uncertainties are identified, tagged for strategic research inquiry, and translated into effective collaborative projects.

The Contribution of Environmental Siting and Permitting Requirements to the Cost of Energy for Wave Energy Devices

Responsible deployment of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) devices in estuaries, coastal areas, and major rivers requires that biological resources and ecosystems be protected through siting and permitting (consenting) processes. Scoping appropriate deployment locations, collecting pre-installation (baseline) and post-installation data all add to the cost of developing MHK projects, and hence to the cost of energy. Under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists have developed logic models that describe studies and processes for environmental siting and permitting. Each study and environmental permitting process has been assigned a cost derived from existing and proposed tidal, wave, and riverine MHK projects. Costs have been developed at the pilot scale and for commercial arrays for a surge wave energy converter

Visual Modeling for Aqua Ventus I off Monhegan Island, ME

To assist the University of Maine in demonstrating a clear pathway to project completion, PNNL has developed visualization models of the Aqua Ventus I project that accurately depict the Aqua Ventus I turbines from various points on Monhegain Island, ME and the surrounding area. With a hub height of 100 meters, the Aqua Ventus I turbines are large and may be seen from many areas on Monhegan Island, potentially disrupting important viewsheds. By developing these visualization models, which consist of actual photographs taken from Monhegan Island and the surrounding area with the Aqua Ventus I turbines superimposed within each photograph, PNNL intends to support the project’s siting and permitting process by providing the Monhegan Island community and various other stakeholders with a probable glimpse of how the Aqua Ventus I project will appear.

Acoustic Modeling for Aqua Ventus I off Monhegan Island, ME

The DeepCwind consortium, led by the University of Maine, was awarded funding under the US Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Program to develop two floating offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine equipped with Goldwind 6 MW direct drive turbines, as the Aqua Ventus I project. The Goldwind turbines have a hub height of 100 m. The turbines will be deployed in Maine State waters, approximately 2.9 miles off Monhegan Island; Monhegan Island is located roughly 10 miles off the coast of Maine. In order to site and permit the offshore turbines, the acoustic output must be evaluated to ensure that the sound will not disturb residents on Monhegan Island, nor input sufficient sound levels into the nearby ocean to disturb marine mammals. This initial assessment of the acoustic output focuses on the sound of the turbines in air by modeling the assumed sound source level, applying a sound propagation model, and taking into account the distance from shore.

The Contribution of Environmental Siting and Permitting Requirements to the Cost of Energy for Ocean Current Devices - Reference Model #4

Report on environmental aspects of reference model for ocean current, for internal DOE project.

Regulatory Assistance, Stakeholder Outreach, and Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Activities In Support Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Deployment: Task 2.1.7 Permitting and Planning Fiscal Year 2012 Year-End Report

This fiscal year 2012 year-end report summarizes activities carried out under DOE Water Power task 2.1.7, Permitting and Planning. Activities under Task 2.1.7 address the concerns of a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in the development of the MHK industry, including regulatory and resource management agencies, tribes, NGOs, and industry. Objectives for 2.1.7 are the following: • To work with stakeholders to streamline the MHK regulatory permitting process. • To work with stakeholders to gather information on needs and priorities for environmental assessment of MHK development. • To communicate research findings and directions to the MHK industry and stakeholders. • To engage in spatial planning processes in order to further the development of the MHK industry. These objectives are met through three subtasks, each of which are described in this report: • 2.1.7.1—Regulatory Assistance • 2.1.7.2—Stakeholder Outreach • 2.1.7.3—Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning As the MHK industry works with the regulatory community and stakeholders to plan, site, permit and license MHK technologies they have an interest in a predictable, efficient, and transparent process. Stakeholders and regulators have an interest in processes that result in sustainable use of ocean space with minimal effects to existing ocean users. Both stakeholders and regulators have an interest in avoiding legal challenges by meeting the intent of federal, state, and local laws that govern siting and operation of MHK technologies. The intention of work under 2.1.7 is to understand these varied interests, explore mechanisms to reduce conflict, identify efficiencies, and ultimately identify pathways to reduce the regulatory costs, time, and potential environmental impacts associated with developing, siting, permitting, and deploying MHK systems.