Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy

April 13, 2021

Mikaela Freeman Lysel Garavelli

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Today’s presentation

• Introduction to OES-Environmental . Tethys website . 2020 State of the Science report

• Marine renewable energy (MRE)

• Environmental effects . Why study environmental effects? . Key environmental effects

• Path forward . Data transferability and risk retirement . OES-Environmental next steps

2 OES-Environmental

• International initiative coordinating research and information to progress the MRE industry in an environmentally responsible manner • 16 OES nations currently participating . Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States • Led by the US - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and supported by DOE Water Power Technologies Office

3 Tethys

• Online Knowledge Base . Hosts over 6,8000 scientific papers, grey literature reports, and other documents • Map Viewer • Tethys Stories • Events Calendar • OES-Environmental Metadata • Bi-weekly Tethys Blasts https://tethys.pnnl.gov/

4 The OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report

• The most up-to-date compilation of scientific research and evidence associated with environmental effects of MRE • 40 authors & contributors • Extensive reviewing process • 14 chapters, 300+ pages . Key device interactions with the marine environment . Environmental monitoring technologies . Strategies for accelerating consenting . Summary & path forward https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/state-of-the-science-2020 5 The OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report • Additional material: . Executive summary (with translations) . Short science summaries . Supplementary material for some chapters

https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/state-of-the-science-2020 6 Marine Renewable Energy (MRE)

• Energy harvested from ocean waves, tides, currents, temperature, salinity gradient, and large rivers • Early stages of development and commercialization • MRE is a feasible part of the energy portfolio that provides climate change mitigation, energy security, economic development, and jobs

Left to right: Nova Innovation’s D2T2®, Ocean Power Technologies’ PB3 PowerBuoy®, and Ocean Energy’s OE Buoy 7 Why study environmental effects of MRE?

• Drivers for MRE are clear, but . Stakeholders and regulators have concerns . Regulatory processes not well established

• These concerns are driven by: . New, unknown technologies with unknown potential for harm . Insufficient knowledge of environment in high energy areas . New use of ocean space and many other uses (fishing, shipping, recreation, etc.) . Concerns about marine species already under stress

8 Why study environmental effects of MRE? cont.

• Understanding the state of the science helps: . Inform regulators and advisors about potential risks from MRE installations . Assist MRE developers in developing engineering, siting, operation strategies, and monitoring to minimize impacts • Improved information can: . Simplify/shorten time to consent and deploy devices & arrays . Decrease scientific uncertainty and clarify perceived versus actual risk . Share information internationally

9 Environmental Effects of MRE: Stressors and Receptors

• Stressors – MRE devices and systems that may cause harm • Receptors – marine animals, habitats, ecosystem processes

• Priority stressors:

Collision risk Mooring line encounter

Underwater noise Changes in oceanographic systems Electromagnetic fields

Displacement / barrier Habitat changes effects

10 Collision Risk Around Turbines

• Interaction specific to tidal energy – moving turbine blades • Concerns for: . Marine mammals . Fish . Diving seabirds • Important to understand which animals may be in the area of a turbine and their capability to sense and evade devices

11 Collision Risk Around Turbines

• To date, few observations of animals around turbines • Difficult to monitor . Technologies are not well developed . Challenging environments . Lots of data to sift through • Models of collision risk are improving but not validated • Perceived risk remains high due to: . Uncertainties about probability of collisions . Consequences may be great if collisions occur

12 Risk from Underwater Noise

• Marine animals use underwater sound to communicate and navigate • Sound from MRE devices may add to other anthropogenic sources • Concerns for: • Marine mammals • Fish • Underwater noise could cause physical harm, including behavioral changes and loss of hearing 13 Risk from Underwater Noise

• Sound levels unlikely to cause physical harm • Behavioral effects most likely but difficult and costly to investigate • Important tools: . International standard (TC114) . US regulatory action thresholds: o Marine mammal underwater sound thresholds o Fish guidance . Measurements of some turbines and wave energy converters fall below these guidelines

14 Risk from Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

• Produced from power export cables and energized parts of devices . Can add to naturally-occurring magnetic fields • Potential to disturb some marine animals, especially electro- or magneto-sensitive species • Concerns for: . Elasmobranchs (skates, rays) . Invertebrates (lobsters, crabs) . Fish

15 Risk from Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

• Power cables likely to be buried or shielded • Studies show changes, but not expected to be harmful . Will need to examine effects with larger arrays • No thresholds or standardized methods for measurement • Relatively low risk

16 Changes in Habitats

• Concerns about impacts to benthic and pelagic habitats: . Cable laying . Footprint effect . Scour . Settling of benthic organisms (biofouling) . Reefing of fish • Possible for indirect effects: . Food webs . Reserve and spill-over effects • Theoretical potential for introduction of non-native species

17 Changes in Habitats

• Similar to effects from other offshore industries • MRE projects need to be sited to avoid important/unique habitats • Relatively low risk

18 Changes in Oceanographic Systems

Local effects near tidal farm Velocity deficit at flood tide Bed stress deficit at flood tide • Placement of MRE devices in the a b oceans may: • Change circulation • Remove energy from the system (wave heights) Bed Stress Velocity (Pascal) • Change patterns of sediment movement (m/s) • Alter water quality • Impact marine food webs

(Yang and Wang 2016)

19 Changes in Oceanographic Systems

• For small numbers of MRE devices, changes are too small to measure • Computer models indicate there could be changes from very large arrays • But models need to be validated • Based on modeling studies, this risk is very low

20 Encounters with Moorings & Cables

• Entrapment or entanglement in mooring lines or cables • Concerns based on loose fishing gear, old submarine cables • Concerns for large marine mammals (whales)

21 Encounters with Moorings & Cables

• No loose ends to MRE lines or cables, no loops https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/humpback-whales- • Risk from this stressor is very low floating-offshore-wind-farm-animation 22 Next Steps to Advance the MRE Industry

Overall, it appears that the likely risk to marine animals is small (except possibly for collision risk), for small numbers of MRE devices.

1. Data collection for consenting needs to be proportionate to risk 2. Need sufficient evidence of risk or likely risk for regulators to rely on 3. Transfer of data and information from consented projects and other studies 4. Move to retire risks that are not significant; revisit for larger arrays

23 Social and Economic Effects

• MRE developments can benefit local, regional and national communities . Economic development . Employment opportunities . Tourism . Services and infrastructure . Health and well-being • But can have adverse effects, especially on local communities, if not sited carefully

24 Social and Economic Effects

• Social and economic effects must be considered . Often required as part of MRE consent applications and incorporated in environmental impact assessments • Lack of complete understanding of benefits or adverse effects from MRE • Need for: . Guidance for data collection methods and socio-economic assessments for consistency and comparability . Information to estimate baseline and long-term impacts at local and regional scales . Both quantitative and qualitative data collection . Flexible planning approaches to address uncertainty . Early and consistent stakeholder engagement for MRE projects

25 Path Forward • Continued international outreach and engagement to: . Share data and information . Identify research gaps and data needs . Coordinate efforts to increase understanding

• OES-Environmental . Extend more into tropical areas, southern hemisphere . 2024 State of the Science Report . Work with regulators and developers to aid understanding of environmental effects  Streamline consenting processes (risk retirement, etc.)

26 Data Transferability

• Data/information collected through research studies and monitoring from other projects should inform new projects . Data from other industries may also inform new MRE project • Site-specific data will be needed for all new projects, but can help reduce these needs https://tethys.pnnl.gov/data-transferability

27 Risk Retirement • For certain interactions, potential risks need not be fully investigated for every project for small developments (1-3 devices) • Rely on what is already known – data transferability • Risk retirement does not replace or contradict any regulatory processes • Currently working on: . Underwater noise, EMF, changes in habitat, and changes in oceanographic processes https://tethys.pnnl.gov/risk-retirement

28 Thank You!

Mikaela Freeman, [email protected] Lysel Garavelli, [email protected] Pacific Northwest National Laboratory