Abstract
Marine renewable energy (MRE) development is gaining momentum globally as a means of mitigating climate change and providing increased energy security for coastal and remote areas. Initially, MRE development was focused in Europe and the United Kingdom, with other countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia shortly following suit. Many additional countries around the world have begun to explore their own coastal resources and consider potential MRE technologies such as wave, tidal, riverine, OTEC, and salinity gradient energy. While this increased interest and adoption in marine renewables worldwide is important for climate change mitigation and clean energy transition, development of the MRE industry must be sustainable and not cause significant impact on marine life, habitats, or ocean reliant coastal communities.
This study examined active, decommissioned, planned, and cancelled MRE projects globally to assess the associated environmental monitoring methods, outputs, and outcomes. This paper will explore the range of MRE projects in countries worldwide that have conducted either baseline or post installation environmental monitoring. Stressor-receptor interactions with MRE devices will be examined as well as investigating trends by country and MRE technology type. The results from four wave, tidal, and riverine projects will be evaluated for quality and outcomes of their environmental monitoring methods and data, and the actions taken as a result of the data collection and analysis.