Abstract
Consenting and environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures are two of the major non-technical barriers to the further expansion of offshore renewable energy (ORE). Risk-based consenting of offshore renewable energy (RiCORE) is a Horizon 2020 funded project which aims to promote the successful development of ORE in the European Union by developing an environmental risk-based approach to the consenting of ORE projects, where the level of survey requirement is based on the environmental sensitivity of the site, the risk profile of the technology and the scale of the proposed project. The project aims to provide guidance on how to potentially improve consenting processes to ensure cost-efficient delivery of the necessary surveys, clear and transparent reasoning for work undertaken, improving knowledge sharing and reducing the non-technical barriers to the development of the ORE sector. The output from RiCORE includes deliverables over six work packages including four expert workshops conducted with relevant stakeholders (regulators, industry and EIA practitioners). The first workshop considered the practices, methodologies and implementation of pre-consent surveys, post-consent and post-deployment monitoring. The second workshop examined the legal framework in place in the partner Member States (MS) to ensure that the framework developed will be applicable for roll out across these MS and further afield. Two further workshops have involved target stakeholders to develop and refine recommendations and discuss their effective implementation. This communication highlights the main findings and draft recommendations from the RiCORE project to date. For further information and associated deliverable reports visit http://ricore-project.eu.