ABPmer launches assessment tool to assist marine renewable energy developers

ABPmer has launched a new assessment tool – AutoCRAT - to assist marine renewable energy developers to assess underwater collision risk for marine mammals, birds and fish.
Marine renewable energy devices such as tidal stream and wave energy converters have the potential to make a significant contribution to energy supply, energy security and climate change mitigation in the medium to long-term. In taking forward the planning and deployment of commercial scale arrays, it is important that the environmental risks associated with such devices are adequately characterised and understood. A key concern of regulators relates to the potential risks arising from underwater collisions between marine mammals, birds and fish and the devices, particularly tidal stream devices with rotating blades.

Existing evidence points to a theoretical risk of physiological damage for larger marine organisms, depending on blade speed at the point of collision. More general assessments of encounter rates between marine mammals and devices have also identified that a significant proportion of the population may be exposed to such risks.

“a risk-based approach to impact assessment”

To support the assessment of these risks, ABPmer has developed a Collision Risk Assessment Tool – AutoCRAT – which provides a structured framework for assessing risks from different types of device in specific locations. The tool takes account of:

• Specific device characteristics;
• Physical aspects of the deployment location; and
• Available information on the distribution, abundance, movements and behaviour of marine mammals, birds and fish and their relative avoidance and evasion capacities.

Speaking about the launch of the tool, ABPmer Director Stephen Hull said “Marine renewable energy development has the potential to make a significant contribution to tackling climate change but it is important that the planning and deployment of device arrays takes account of and manages environmental risks. The AutoCRAT tool provides a risk-based approach to addressing potential impacts to marine mammals, birds and fish and builds on a number of previous research studies. We have successfully applied the tool to a proposed deployment of a tidal stream prototype in an area of high marine mammal interest and the tool will be of interest to other marine renewable energy developers as part of their environmental impact assessment studies”.

ABPmer has been studying how the deployment of wet renewable energy devices might interact with the marine environment for a number of years.  It recently completed an assessment for the Crown Estate and in January 2009 ABPmer published a piece of research, commissioned by npower via its Juice Fund, investigating how wet renewable developments might be managed to minimise environmental impacts. The document can be freely downloaded from the ABPmer reports and publications page.

For more detail on services to Marine Renewable Developers please see our datasheet.

Contact:
Tracey Hewett
Communications Manager
ABPmer
thewett@abpmer.co.uk

Stephen Hull
Project Director
ABPmer
shull@abpmer.co.uk
Switchboard: 023 8071 1840

Image courtesy of Andy Pearson