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360o environmental impact and
regulation for renewable energy
Dr Gareth Davies
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Introduction to Aquatera
Based in Orkney Islands - one of the worlds most exciting energy
areas
Environmental and energy planning consultancy
Key numbers over 50 people,
Work for: Work for:
30 marine technologies
10 marine array projects
30 wind projects
involving 15 countries,
comprising over 300 renewable energy studies
Pedigree of work in the offshore oil and gas, shipping, tourism
and fish farming along with renewables
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What is the environment
Test facilitiesTest facilitiesTest facilitiesTest facilities
Technology trialsTechnology trialsTechnology trialsTechnology
trials
Physical
processes
Ecological
features
History &
culture
Resource
conditions
Planning
constraints
Operating
conditions
Baseline
sensitivities
& research
outputs
Technology trialsTechnology trialsTechnology trialsTechnology
trials
Project arraysProject arraysProject arraysProject arrays
Local
communities
Regional
businesses
Energy
markets
Other
commerceSupporting
infrastructure
Fiscal & policy
regime
Monitoring
results &
operating
experienceA holistic 360o perspective
on the working
environment is required
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Marine management & control strategy Jurisdictional
settlements
Strategic planning
Leasing
EIA process
Baseline studies
Impact assessment
Cumulative and trans-boundary
Near
shore
Offshore
Cumulative and trans-boundary
assessment
Mitigation, management and
optimisation plan
Marine licensing & onshore planning
Monitoring effects
Reporting outcomes
Managing legacy issues
Onshore
Conflicting claims, competing uses, compatible activities,
synergies, trans-boundary effects,
cumulative effects, onshore/offshore impacts, environmental ,
social & economic effects,
technical & economic need
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First priority - location, location, location !!!
Right part of the world
Right country
Right region
Right site
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Approach to weighting
The distribution of the various factors identified in the
weighting analysis was entered into a GIS
The various scores are applied to the areas, line and points
representing the various
Landfallsrepresenting the various features
Maps are prepared showing the distribution of suitability for
the different major project activities
Detailed maps follow:
Switching station
Converter station
Buried cables
Overhead lines
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Where for energy generation?
Wide range of possible site
options
Sites need to be based upon
multiple criteria
Energy resources
Technical limits
Suitability for wave developments
Technical limits
Cost factors
Planning factors
Infrastructure
Sites need to take into
account scale of development,
timing & relationship to
others
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Strategic spatial planning for energy
Acceptability scenarioEnergy category High Medium Low
Installed generation capacity (MW)Current energy use 201 201
201R & D 8 11 17Existing/approved wind 23 23 23
Tidal current 1462 2443 3571Offshore wind 0 385 986Offshore wave
101 226 226Onshore wind (1 MW units) 0 46 256Onshore wind (1 MW
units) 0 46 256Tidal head 1 6 7Coastal wave 0 0 0Energy efficiency
19 33 47Micro-renewables 16 29 47Biomass crops 3 7 14Biomass
harvest 2 3 3Bio-digestion 0.1 0.4 0.7Energy from waste 0 0 0Total
installed capacity (MW) 1603 3177 5158
Annual power production (GWh) 5580.1 11057.6 17951.3Energy
income ([email protected]/kWh) 67.0 132.7 215.4ROC income ([email protected]/kWh) 256.7
508.6 825.8
Tidal current
Offshore wind
Offshore wave
Onshore wind
Tidal head
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Second priority - Optioneering
HOW to undertake activities
Typical pathway:
Consider all options
Identify barriers and imperatives
Establish levels of Establish levels of acceptability
Compare options with one another
Optimise and confirm selection
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Third priority predicting resultant
significant impacts
Use established evidence
Map out certainties,
likelihoods &
uncertaintiesuncertainties
Consider where the
balance of probability lies
Investigate any areas of
major concern (tested
against other priorities)
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Impact scoping tool
Characterises key sensitivities
Analyses potential technologies
Identifies key interactions
Establishes areas of significance
Parks non-significant issues
Recommends approaches to Recommends approaches to manage
significant impacts
Stores an evidence base upon which judgements have been made
It filters 30,000 possible interactions typically down to 5-10
key issues to be addressed for a particular technology in a
particular place
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Current energy risks & impactsOur existing energy systems
have led to:
Sea temperature rise Seawater acidification Polar ice melt
Changing species distributions Increase in species extinctions Oil
spills Oily water and chemicals discharges Radionuclide
contamination Radionuclide contamination Thermal pollution Water
filtration Water abstraction Underwater noise Light pollution Flare
mortality for birds Obstruction to shipping and fishing Seabed
disturbance Seabed subsidence
The starting point is not without existing issues!!
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An Orkney case study Orkney lies off the north of
Scotland the global centre
for renewable energy
25 years of effort & 10 years
operations experience in
marine energymarine energy
Over 50 years effort related to
wind energy
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Wave energy experiences 8 technologies deployed, over
1000 marine operations
Moorings installed for 8 years without incident
6 piles drilled near shore
Birds, seals & cetaceans seem unaffected
Little audible noise from devices
Little audible noise from devices
No significant environmental impacts recorded
Typically level of local content ~20-40% in terms of value
()
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Tidal energy experiences 8 years, 10 technologies, over
1000 marine operations
No shipping accidents but concerns in frequent channel users
Little or no fishing in tidal areas
Birds and seals seem to stay out of fast flowing tidal
streams
No signs of behavioural change No signs of behavioural change in
birds or seals
Fish seen at slack water but not when tide is running
Basking sharks observed swimming without any change in behaviour
past manoeuvring tugs
No widespread seabed impacts
Typically level of local content ~5-50% in terms of value ()
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Wind turbine experience
Wind for mechanical energy
Wind for electricity
Now 85MW installed capacity 25 large turbines (>1MW)
700 mini & micro turbines 700 mini & micro turbines
(
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Status of the marine management & control
strategy in Scotland
Jurisdictional settlements
Strategic planning
Leasing
EIA process
Baseline studies
Impact assessment
Cumulative and trans-boundary assessment
Important to learn from
not to copy previous Cumulative and trans-boundary
assessment
Mitigation, management and optimisation plan
Marine licensing & onshore planning
Monitoring effects
Reporting outcomes
Managing legacy issues
not to copy previous
practices
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Comprehensive toolkit already exists
Technology evaluation and selection framework
Holistic cost models
Site selection tools & models
Protocols for baseline and monitoring studies
Impact prioritisation tool
Best Practical Environmental
Option tool
Strategic
planning tool
CAPEX &
OPEX cost
models
Baseline &
monitoring
protocols Impact prioritisation tool
Precautionary conservation protection framework
Cumulative effects frameworks
Risk assessment tools
Stakeholder communication tools
Impact
screening
framework
Habitats
Regulations
tool
Cumulative
Effects
model
Navigation Risk
Assessment
template
Hazard Identification
& Risk Assessment
tool
Impact
Assessment
framework
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Conclusions
Early devices have not shown any hidden impacts, ecological
impacts are minor at most
Learning from global experience can avoid un-necessary costs,
delay and precautionprecaution
Need to build mechanisms for sharing data and experiences
Renewables are better for the environment than existing energy
systems should we start treating them in that way?
