scholarly journals Epibenthic Assessment of a Renewable Tidal Energy Site

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma V. Sheehan ◽  
Sarah C. Gall ◽  
Sophie L. Cousens ◽  
Martin J. Attrill
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Tidal Energy ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Potential Control ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy

Concern over global climate change as a result of fossil fuel use has resulted in energy production from renewable sources. Marine renewable energy devices provide clean electricity but can also cause physical disturbance to the local environment. There is a considerable paucity of ecological data at potential marine renewable energy sites that is needed to assess potential future impacts and allow optimal siting of devices. Here, we provide a baseline benthic survey for the Big Russel in Guernsey, UK, a potential site for tidal energy development. To assess the suitability of proposed sites for marine renewable energy in the Big Russel and to identify potential control sites, we compared species assemblages and habitat types. This baseline survey can be used to select control habitats to compare and monitor the benthic communities after installation of the device and contribute towards the optimal siting of any future installation.

Monitor the Impact of Marine Renewable Energy Devices on Local Environment

2013 ◽  
Vol 448-453 ◽  
pp. 1620-1623
Author(s):  
Jia Liu ◽  
Feng Xu ◽  
Xu Dong An ◽  
Qiao Zhang ◽  
Juan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Energy Device ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy ◽  
Underwater Environment ◽  
Marine Energy ◽  
Development And Utilization ◽  
The Impact

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, a Multi-beam Echo Sounder is introduced. And the measured results in a lake are given, which are shown that this sonar could detection the fish effectively.

Strategic priorities for assessing ecological impacts of marine renewable energy devices in the Pentland Firth (Scotland, UK)

Marine Policy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Shields ◽  
Lora Jane Dillon ◽  
David K. Woolf ◽  
Alex T. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy

scholarly journals Risk Retirement—Decreasing Uncertainty and Informing Consenting Processes for Marine Renewable Energy Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea E. Copping ◽  
Mikaela C. Freeman ◽  
Alicia M. Gorton ◽  
Lenaïg G. Hemery
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Tidal Energy ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Development ◽  
Electricity Grids ◽  
Project Site ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

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.

scholarly journals Offshore marine renewable energy devices as stepping stones across biogeographical boundaries

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Adams ◽  
Raeanne G. Miller ◽  
Dmitry Aleynik ◽  
Michael T. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy

scholarly journals Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Scale Assessment of Marine Renewable Energy Structure in a Tidal System

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurore Raoux ◽  
◽  
Ilan Robin ◽  
Jean-Philippe Pezy ◽  
Anne-Claire Bennis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Tidal Energy ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Energy Structure ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy

The French coast of the Atlantic and English Channel (EC) is promising for the development of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE), including wind, wave, and tidal stream, due to the high velocity of currents in some parts of the area. This paper, focusing on wind and tidal energy, discusses how the implementation of MRE converters influences biodiversity, and vice versa, through biofouling and reef effects. The understanding of these interactions requires the knowledge of the hydro-sedimentary conditions and the macrofauna. The research on these topics, performed at the Continental and Coastal Morphodynamic laboratory (M2C) (UNICAEN, France), is presented through a multi-disciplinary approach by i) studying the hydrodynamic conditions and the macrofauna in Alderney Race, ii) studying the biofouling effects on tidal turbines and their influence on the turbulent wake, iii) assessing the hydro-sedimentary impacts induced by the offshore wind farm, like scouring, and iv) taking an ecosystem approach on MRE, such as the reef effect. From an ecological perspective, the reef effect can be responsible for changes in the structure and function of the ecosystem. Although several studies have analyzed this effect at the species-or community-scale, the propagation of the reef effect at the ecosystem-scale remains unclear. Thus, understanding these ecosystem-scale effects is urgent for future research. From an engineering perspective, biofouling changes the structural characteristics (i.e., supplementary mass) of the converters and thus, affects their performance.

Combined Optical and Acoustic Monitoring of Fishes in the Demonstration Site of Marine Renewable Energy Development

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kitazawa ◽  
Yoichi Mizukami
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Acoustic Wave ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Video Camera ◽  
Water Tank ◽  
Fishing Vessel ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy ◽  
Demonstration Site ◽  
Fish Eye

Before the installation of marine renewable energy devices, fish species and abundance should be examined for selecting the proper site where the effects of the devices on the environment and fish will be as small as possible. Fish species and abundance can be examined in a variety of methods such as a fish finder using an acoustic wave and fishing gears such as a gill net. However, the fish finder cannot specify the species of fish that is sometimes estimated from the experience of fishermen or scientific researchers. Some amounts of fish must be removed from the target sea area in case of using the fishing gear, while the species of fish can be specified. In the present study, an underwater optical video camera is combined with the fish finder using an acoustic wave to specify the species of fish. A circular fish-eye digital video camera is inserted into a waterproof container. A part of the container is made of glass in a dome shape for the circular fish-eye lens. The container is attached to polyethylene ropes and is towed by a fishing vessel. First, the hydrodynamic characteristics of the container was examined by a towing test with the three kinds of towing speed in a water tank. Then the container was towed in the real sea, which is the demonstration site of offshore wind and wave energy developments off Kamaishi of Iwate Prefecture. The depth of the video camera with the container was not constant since the moving speed of the fishing vessel was slow and fluctuating. The image of video camera could be captured successfully together with that of the acoustic video camera, while fish could not be found in both the optical and acoustic measurements in the present investigation. The investigation will be continued, and the effects of transparency of water should be discussed as future works. Also the actual or model fish should be captured by the underwater video camera to evaluate if it can specify the species of fish.

Active acoustic monitoring in extreme turbulence around marine renewable energy devices

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
pp. 2174-2174
Author(s):  
Shaun Fraser ◽  
Benjamin Williamson ◽  
Beth E. Scott ◽  
Vladimir Nikora
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy
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