Annex IV Webinar – Environmental Effects of Permitting MRE Development
March 29, 2017 10:00 – 11:30 am PT; 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET (17:00 – 19:30 UTC)
Summary
This webinar, designed for and tailored to regulators involved in permitting marine renewable energy (MRE) developments (wave and tidal), will cover the current state of MRE development and latest research findings on environmental effects of MRE. We seek to engage federal and state regulators and their advisors to understand their concerns and questions about permitting MRE development, to work together to reduce risks and understand conflicts from environmental effects of MRE.
The MRE industry worldwide is still in the early stages of development, deployment and commercialization. There are numerous engineering and ocean deployment challenges to the development of the MRE industry, and ensuring that devices do not cause harm to marine animals or habitats, or violate environmental consistency regulations and statutes, is essential to the responsible establishment of this new low carbon energy source. As part of the international Annex IV initiative, we invite regulators and advisors around the US to join us in supporting responsible management of our shared resources, while contributing to the nation’s energy needs.
Presenter
Andrea Copping, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Andrea is the research lead for marine renewable energy (MRE) development, and for offshore wind development, for Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, on behalf of the US Department of Energy. Dr. Copping’s projects focus on environmental impacts from the development of wave, tidal, offshore wind, ocean current and riverine energy installations, and the role that these effects could play in technology development and project initiation across the nation. Using risk-based approaches, the MRE and offshore wind team lead by Dr. Copping integrates laboratory, field and modeling measurements into a coherent body of evidence to support siting and permitting decisions. Dr. Copping works across several scientific disciplines to determine implications of human stressors on marine resources and ecosystems processes, working with stakeholder groups and resource managers to ensure that the available scientific information is accessible and available.
The presentation for the webinar is available here.
A video recording of the webinar has been posted below: