The OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World builds on and serves as an update and a complement to the 2013 Final Report for Phase 1 of OES-Environmental and the 2016 State of the Science Report. Its content reflects the most current and pertinent published information about interactions of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices and associated infrastructure with the animals and habitats that make up the marine environment. It has been developed and reviewed by over 60 international experts and scientists from around the world as part of an ongoing effort supported by the OES collaboration that operates within the International Technology Cooperation Framework of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Some of the chapters in the 2020 State of the Science Report contained more information and technical details than could be accommodated in the main report. These materials appear as supplementary materials, which are linked within the 2020 State of the Science Report itself and available for download on the 2020 State of the Science Report Supplementary Materials page.
Chapter 11: Marine Spatial Planning and Marine Renewable Energy describes the interactions between marine spatial planning (MSP) with MRE and the possibilities for integrating MSP in planning and developing the MRE industry. MSP is advocated internationally as an improved approach to managing marine activities that addresses competing sectors and balances environmental, social, and economic interests. The benefits of MSP include increased transparency and certainty for industry, improved environmental protection, reduced sectoral conflicts, and providing opportunities for synergies. Approaches to implementation of MSP vary by country and sometimes within countries; this chapter documents how MSP is currently being used to plan and develop MRE in the 15 countries that are involved in OES-Environmental.
The Chapter 11 Supplementary Material is an extended version of the chapter and provides more detailed information on MRE policies and links to MSP, taking MRE into account in MSP, and scientific information to inform MSP.
The information presented in this chapter derives from answers to a Questionnaire completed by OES-Environmental participant country representatives or their suggested contacts and, where appropriate, supplemented by relevant external sources. The questionnaire requested input about the approaches to MSP in each country; if and how MRE policies link to MSP; how scientific information informs the process; how potential conflicts are managed; zoning for MRE; tools used to implement MSP; how consenting processes link to MSP; possible challenges to implementation of MSP for MRE; how the public is involved in MSP; and an option to include any further comments.