Assessment of Environmental Effects and Monitoring Efforts for Ocean Wave, Tidal, and Current Energy Systems

Phase 1: 2010-2013
OES-Environmental (the task formerly known as Annex IV) member countries collaborated to create a searchable, publicly available database of research and monitoring information to evaluate environmental effects. The database, housed in the Tethys Knowledge Base, includes data from MRE projects, research studies and case study reports. Two international scientific workshops were held to provide input for the database and to inform the 2013 Final Annex IV Report.

Phase 2: 2013-2016
OES-Environmental (the task formerly known as Annex IV) was continued for a second phase, continuing the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on environmental effects of MRE development. During Phase 2, additional emphasis was placed on creating a collaborative space or commons for interaction among researchers, developers, regulators, and stakeholders. Phase 2 culminated with the preparation of the 2016 State of the Science Report, and partnership with the EWTEC 2015 international conference.

Phase 3: 2016-2020
OES-Environmental was approved for a 4-year extension consisting of three interrelated tracks: (1) information gathering and analysis, (2) information dissemination, and (3) engaging the community to support research and monitoring needs. Phase 3 culminated with the completion of the 2020 State of the Science Report.

Phase 4: 2020-2024
OES-Environmental has been approved for Phase 4 and will continue its efforts.
Phase 4 culminated with the completion of the 2024 State of the Science Report.

The tasks performed by OES-Environmental in this phase included:

• Expanding the knowledge base on the environmental effects of MRE for the marine renewable energy (MRE) community through ongoing information collection and curation of the scientific literature that is stored and made accessible through Tethys. 
• Using Tethys as the platform to collect, curate, and disseminate data and information collected on marine energy developments and research projects including the OES-Environmental “metadata forms”. 
• Work on the risk retirement process that included preparation and dissemination of guidance documents. 
• Active dissemination of information on risk retirement and associated processes for regulators and developers to assist with consenting, including addressing the need for baseline data collection and post-installation monitoring, with a particular emphasis on collision risk for tidal turbines. 
• Examination of questions surrounding the environmental effects of MRE in “new topics” such as effects of scaling up from single devices to arrays, cumulative effects of MRE, ecosystem effects of MRE, and displacement of marine animals. 
• Assessing the information available on the environmental effects of MRE in tropical and subtropical ecosystems and other underserved areas, as represented by the OES nations. 
• Continuing outreach and engagement to the MRE community through workshops, webinars, conferences, and online materials with particular emphasis on researchers, regulators, advisors, and MRE device developers. 
• Developing, compiling, and disseminating educational resources on the environmental effects of MRE.  

Phase 5: 2024-2028
OES-Environmental has been approved for Phase 5 and will continue its efforts while increasing emphasis on four key areas: (1) Environmental Acceptability (2) Environmental Effects of Off-Grid Marine Renewable Energy Applications (3) System Wide Effects of Large-Scale Development (4) Social and Economic Effects of Marine Renewable Energy.
Phase 5 will culminate with the creation of the 2028 State of the Science Report.
 
The tasks performed by OES-Environmental during Phase 5 include:

• Engage with the countries involved in OES-Environmental to expand, collect, and disseminate international knowledge on environmental effects of MRE.
• Continue to collect, curate, and disseminate data and information on MRE projects through the OES-Environmental “metadata forms”
• Continue outreach and engagement to the MRE community through workshops, webinars, conferences, and online materials with particular emphasis on researchers, regulators, advisors, and MRE device developers. 
• Continue to improve engagement and understanding of the environmental concerns and key knowledge and outreach gaps of regulators and advisors through the update and dissemination of “regulator surveys”.
• Create a matrix of science-directed guidance on MRE device design, deployment, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning for MRE developers, leveraging the past 14 years of OES-Environmental research on environmental effects.
• Evaluate the environmental effects of off-grid MRE uses through case studies and prepare an off-grid MRE consenting framework for OES-Environmental countries.
• Collect information on larger MRE arrays and identify key metrics of system-wide effects that will be made available to MRE developers and regulators.
• Examine the social and economic outcomes of MRE development and integrate the information into guidance for developers to lead to gaining social acceptance. 

2024 STATE OF THE SCIENCE REPORT

The OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World summarizes the state of the science of environmental effects of marine renewable energy (MRE) and serves as an update and a complement to the 2020 State of the Science Report. While the research and monitoring findings prior to 2020 are summarized throughout, the main focus of the report is on the more recent work.

MRE is harvested from ocean waves, tides, and currents, as well as ocean temperature and salinity gradients, and from the flow of large rivers (which use technologies similar to those that capture tidal energy). The 2024 State of the Science report mainly focuses on the potential environmental effects from the generation of power from waves using wave energy converters (WECs), tides using tidal turbines, and large rivers using riverine turbines, but also includes new findings from environmental effects of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plants. Lessons learned from other offshore industries are included, where appropriate.

This report has brought together the most up-to-date information on potential environmental effects of MRE development, using information from public sources as well as new scientific research. The Ocean Energy Systems (OES)-Environmental country representatives from the 16 participating countries helped to scope the entirety of the report and provided valuable contributions to all chapters. The input from these contributors and reviewers has resulted in the most complete compendium of research and monitoring findings possible.

Download the Full Report and Executive Summary:


     
 
Dive deeper into the OES-Environmental work by accessing the Executive Summary available in various languages. Additionally, each individual chapter of the report is available for download, allowing you to explore specific topics in detail.

Start exploring

TETHYS DATABASE

Tethys is a database and knowledge management system which hosts OES-Environmental and provides access to information and research about the potential environmental effects of offshore wind and marine renewable energy development.

f you would like to contribute by submitting a project site or research study metadata form, please visit here. 

TETHYS STORIES

Tethys Stories feature information on news, events, research, and projects relevant to wind and marine renewable energy development activities across the globe. Stories are contributed from individuals working in the field, and provide insight into advancing the energy industry in an environmentally responsible manner.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS

Dissemination of information is presented at various conferences and workshops.

Here you can assess the list of past conferences and workshops

Tethys also hosts regular webinars as a means to effectively disseminate new information and research efforts to a large international audience of stakeholders. Anyone is welcome to attend these live webinars and participate in a live question and answer session with the presenters. 

You can assess the webinar archive here

You can sign up to receive invitations to new live webinars here

Updated December 12th 2024