DOE, BOEMRE and NOAA awarding nearly $5 for projects to advance ocean renewable energy

The Department of Energy (DOE), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced eight joint research awards totaling nearly $5 million to support the responsible siting and permitting of offshore wind energy facilities and ocean energy generated from waves, tides, currents and thermal gradients.

The projects were solicited through a competitive joint funding process known as a Broad Agency Announcement, with the support of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The following awards have been selected to receive funding:

Bayesian Integration for Marine Spatial Planning and Renewable Energy Siting.
Parametrix (Auburn, Washington) will apply advanced probabilistic statistical methods to integrate oceanographic, ecological, human use data, stakeholder input, and cumulative impacts for the purpose of evaluating ocean renewable energy siting proposals. The project team has experience with two such methods that, when integrated, can support the needs of ocean renewable energy planning in the context of coastal and marine spatial planning and beyond.
Approximate award amount: $499,000 (over two years); Funding agencies: BOEMRE, DOE, NOAA

Characterization & Potential Impacts of Noise Producing Construction & Operation Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program (Ithaca, New York) will measure, characterize and evaluate the influences of construction and operation noises from Offshore Alternative Energy (OAE) activities on seasonally resident and migratory, acoustically active marine vertebrates. The three-year project will also evaluate the influences of construction and operation noises from OAE activities on seasonally resident marine organisms that do not make or use sounds to communicate, find food or avoid predators. Approximate award amount: $499,000 (over three years); Funding agencies: BOEMRE, NOAA

Developing Environmental Protocols and Modeling Tools to Support Ocean Renewable Energy and Stewardship. The University of Rhode Island (Kingston, Rhode Island) will develop and test standardized protocols for baseline studies and monitoring for the collection and comparison of scientifically valid and comparable data for specific offshore renewable energy issues. The two year project will also develop a conceptual framework and approach for cumulative environmental impact evaluation of offshore renewable energy development. The project, as part of Rhode Island’s ongoing effort to develop a comprehensive coastal and marine spatial plan, will provide agencies with a comprehensive, yet flexible means of assessing the impacts of a broad range of offshore renewable energy resources projects on marine ecosystems and human activities. Approximate award amount: $745,000 (over two years); Funding agencies: BOEMRE, DOE, NOAA

Evaluating Acoustic Technologies to Monitor Aquatic Organisms at Renewable Sites. The University of Washington - School of Aquatic and Fishery Scientists (Seattle, Washington) will evaluate the ability of three classes of active acoustic technologies (echo sounders, multibeam sonar, and acoustic camera) to characterize and monitor animal densities and distributions at a proposed hydrokinetic site. In this two year study, the University of Washington and its partners will deploy instrument packages in northern Admiralty Inlet, Washington, the site of the Snohomish Public Utility District’s proposed tidal energy demonstration project. Approximate award amount: $746,000 (over two years); Funding agencies: DOE, BOEMRE, NOAA

Protocols for Baseline Studies and Monitoring for Ocean Renewable Energy.
Pacific Energy Ventures (Portland, Oregon) will build a Protocol Framework for identifying, collecting and comparing environmental data relevant to offshore renewable energy projects. Leading scientists and stakeholders will work together during this two year project to develop and evaluate the protocol, which will outline the criteria and thresholds for collecting data for both baseline and operational monitoring studies for wave, tidal, and offshore wind projects on the US West Coast. This tool will be portable to other regions and marine ecosystems, and will be developed for consistency with related European programs

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Tags: broad agency announcement, cornell lab of ornithology, Funding, project, Renewable, wind energy facilities

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