Environmental Impact Assessment: Gathering experiences from wave energy test centres in Europe

Abstract

33The wave energy industry is an emerging sector and a new user of maritime space that has 34 potential to contribute significantly to the EU renewable energy goals. International and 35 national regulatory frameworks necessitate Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) that 36 provide important data to inform development consent decisions. Here we have evaluated 37 experience related to the assessment programmes at EU wave energy test centres combined 38 with knowledge gained from EIA produced for other similar renewable energy developments. 39 From this we have identified key receptors of concern, as well as the type and magnitude of 40 impacts which may be expected. The key environmental receptors of concern for wave energy 41 EIA include the physical environment (e.g. morphology, waves and current) and flora and 42 fauna 1 as represented by marine mammals, seabirds, benthos, fish and shellfish. 43From a review of the EIAs performed at wave energy test centres, we identified several lessons 44 regarding the wave energy EIA process. There is clear evidence that the receptors of primary 45

Potential for power generation from ocean wave renewable energy source: a comprehensive review on state‐of‐the‐art technology and future prospects

“…This duration might delay many other WEC devices to pursue sea tests that would result in limiting the market uptake timing and device certifications. In [92], an environment impact assessment was performed considering the wave energy activities at the European testing centres such as EMEC and Wave Hub to enlighten the experiences and facts on this emerging industry.…”

Exploring the winners and losers of marine environmental governance/Marine spatial planning:Cui bono?/“More than fishy business”: epistemology, integration and conflict in marine spatial planning/Marine spatial planning: power and scaping/Surely not all planning is evil?/Marine spatial planning: a Canadian perspective/Maritime spatial planning – “ad utilitatem omnium”/Marine spatial planning: “it is better to be on the train than being hit by it”/Reflections from the perspective of recreation

“…These administrative procedures tend to be governed by national legislation but must incorporate overarching EU legal requirements such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directives , Habitats Directives and Public Participation Directives. Recommendations from recent projects (Greaves et al, 2013;Woolf, 2011) highlight the important role of maritime spatial planning (MSP) in addressing planning and consenting issues. Developers and some regulators see MSP as a way of coordinating decision-making, providing clarity in consenting, reconciling conflicts between sea uses, protecting the environment and encouraging investment (O'Hagan, 2016).…”

“…Yet apprehension remains about how ocean energy requirements will be reflected in MSP, with the dominant view being that MSP is more suited to existing activities rather than future uses. Findings from the SOWFIA project (Greaves et al, 2013) suggest those involved in ocean energy hope that MSP would be more flexible and adaptive than existing planning systems and enable the realisation of more energy projects (O'Hagan et al, in press). Such an increase would help to meet Blue Growth objectives but the challenge is ensuring sustainable development.…”

Modelling Offshore Wave farms for Coastal Process Impact Assessment: Waves, Beach Morphology, and Water Users

“…The extraction of wave energy from the world's oceans and seas has the potential to contribute significantly to the global energy mix. In Europe, the emerging wave energy industry could eventually contribute to European Union (EU) renewable energy targets [1][2][3], if and when full-scale operational wave energy converter (WEC) arrays are deployed. To accommodate these deployments, suitable marine areas for wave energy capture will need to be sought, and for each new WEC test site or operational WEC array, national and international regulations usually require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be performed, in order to demonstrate that the project will not have any unreasonable impacts on the ecology and coastal processes in the surrounding environment [3].…”

“…In Europe, the emerging wave energy industry could eventually contribute to European Union (EU) renewable energy targets [1][2][3], if and when full-scale operational wave energy converter (WEC) arrays are deployed. To accommodate these deployments, suitable marine areas for wave energy capture will need to be sought, and for each new WEC test site or operational WEC array, national and international regulations usually require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be performed, in order to demonstrate that the project will not have any unreasonable impacts on the ecology and coastal processes in the surrounding environment [3]. In many cases, potential impacts to water users such as surfers will also have to be considered as part of the coastal processes impact assessment, as such groups have a shared interest in the wave resource, are of economic importance to coastal regions [4], and have raised significant concerns and opposition during previous WEC siting proposals, e.g., [5].…”