ABPmer Publishes Research on Managing Environmental Impacts of Wet Renewable Devices

ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) has recently published the findings of a study that considered how the deployment of wet renewable energy devices might be managed to minimise environmental impacts.

Commissioned by npower via its Juice Fund, the project investigated how wet renewable developments might be managed to minimise environmental impacts. The study determined that, despite concerns that marine renewables might occupy a large area of sea-space, the degree of overlap between potential wave and tidal energy resources and designated sites for marine nature conservation is small.

It is expected that the work will help to underpin the development of national plans and programmes for wet renewables, supporting strategic environmental assessments as well as local scale consenting and Environmental Impact Assessment issues for individual deployments.

Justine Saunders, Project Manager, ABPmer said that environmental impacts vary considerably depending on the type of device, the development location and the type of mooring arrangement. 

“ Overall, wet renewable energy devices are generally considered to be amongst the more sustainable forms of energy development if the right technology is deployed in the right place and if development is carefully managed.   Individual Environmental Impact Assessments are recommended to address specific issues; however, the planning process can provide input into site selection, device design and appropriate mitigation measures that can help to develop less environmentally damaging solutions at an early stage .”

There are strong international, European and UK Government drivers to increase the proportion of energy (for heat, electricity and transport) that is sourced locally and from renewable sources.   Marine renewable energy in particular could help to meet up to 20% of the electricity targets.  However, there remain concerns for the impacts of novel technologies on nature conservation interests and how they might best be managed. 

The report is aimed at improving stakeholder understanding of the environmental constraints and management measures involved in such developments and is relevant to developers, regulators and conservation groups.   

It can be freely downloaded here: Managing Environmental Impacts of Wet Renewable Devices (PDF 11MB)

Justine Saunders will be giving a presentation on this work at the BWEA Wave and Tidal Energy Conference on April 30, in Bath.
http://www.bwea.com/marine/conference2009.html

Enquiries:
Justine Saunders
Project Manager, ABPmer
Tel: 02380 711840

Tracey Hewett
ABPmer Communications
Tel: 02380 711840

Image courtesy of Tidal Energy Limited