Abstract
The pace and scale of offshore wind development in the United States and in the North Sea has focused increased attention on the need to ensure that this development contributes to global biodiversity goals and the marine environment.
The concept of adding value to the environment is sometimes referred to as creating a “net positive impact on biodiversity” (NPI). NPI means that after a project has addressed the negative impacts caused by its construction and operation, it can engage in additional environmental mitigation or restoration projects, other design elements, or other activities that create and support habitat, attract and support species, or support and enhance important ecological functions and services, thereby helping to reverse biodiversity loss. The successful implementation of this concept at a project or seascape level requires consistent, credible, science-based approaches.
Unfortunately, for offshore wind development, there is no consistent, credible, or science-based approach to implementing NPI. There are no agreed-upon metrics, frameworks, or regulatory schemes for integrating biodiversity goals into new offshore wind projects.
The Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University School of Law and The Nature Conservancy, co-hosted a Marine Law Symposium on April 20–21, 2023, titled Can Offshore Wind Development Have a Net Positive Impact on Biodiversity? Regulatory and Scientific Perspectives and Considerations. This was a public event designed to be future-oriented, educational, and neutral. It took place at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island.
The symposium featured seven panels with 46 speakers and moderators, including representatives from United States-based and Dutch-based companies that support offshore wind development in various ways; federal and state government officials from the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; marine ecologists; other scientists and researchers; and consultants working on offshore wind and/or studying the marine environment. The panelists were identified after organizers conducted more than 70 scoping calls and held four public listening sessions.
The president of Roger Williams University, Ioannis Miaoulis, welcomed 150 registered attendees to the symposium. Julia Wyman, director of the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University School of Law and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program, and Tricia K. Jedele, Atlantic Coast offshore wind policy manager for The Nature Conservancy, detailed how the agenda was developed and panelists were identified; outlined the objectives for the two-day event, and; articulated suggestions to enable and support productive and civil discourse throughout the symposium.
The symposium sought to address specific question through the panels. This document, the Summary of Proceedings, summarizes answers to these questions that were culled from the presentations and discussions, and highlights Panel Headlines and Panel Recommendations. The Summary of Proceedings, along with PowerPoint presentations, a video trailer summarizing the symposium, the videos of each presentation, Useful Resources, Glossary, Agenda, and Speaker Biographies are available on the Marine Affairs Institute’s webpage.
The symposium was structured to provide two days of learning that built knowledge panel-to-panel. Day one consisted of a high-level overview of the regulatory paradigm for offshore wind in the United States, with specific reference to the points in the regulatory timeline that contemplate the mitigation hierarchy. It also included the scientific perspectives of how the concept of NPI relates to the mitigation hierarchy and what is needed to achieve NPI in the marine environment. Day two included panels structured to more fully examine the policy and economic drivers for NPI, implementing mechanisms and opportunities for NPI, the offshore wind industry’s approach to NPI, and technological applications, science needs, and challenges.