Webinars for Marine and Wind Energy and the Environment

The recently published Annex IV State of the Science Report summarizes the state of the science of interactions and effects of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices on the marine environment, the animals that live there, and the habitats that support them.

The Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) hosted a public webinar on 23 August 2023 from 10:00-11:00am MDT (4:00-5:00pm UTC).

Anthropogenic noise production in the marine environment is a known stressor to many different aquatic species. This webinar focused on research efforts focused on determining the potential impacts of MHK-produced noise to aquatic animals.

This webinar delves into the concept of Adaptive Management (AM), and how it can be used as an effective decision making process in the face of uncertainty for the marine renewable energy industry.

A recent review of Adaptive Management (AM) has clarified fundamental differences in the definition of AM, and its application to projects or planning processes. This webinar sets out to explore these experiences and suggest the possibility of a common definition and framework for AM that is capable of supporting the needs of wind energy development where there are potential conflicts with wildlife. It will examine how AM has been applied to wind energy development around the world, with a focus on examples from the US and UK.

Discussions focused on the probability and extent of damage occurring as a result of interaction between aquatic animals and MHK devices.

This webinar will look at the environmental effects of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices related to benthic habitat and community changes, and the effects of artificial reefs, specifically focusing on marine fish and crustaceans.

In an effort to ensure that potential offshore wind development protects the environment and addresses the concerns of coastal communities, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is conducting a multi-year aerial survey of wildlife in this area. This webinar will outline the planned scope of the survey project and provide insights in the technical aspects of image collection, processing, species identification and data presentation.

The presenters provide examples of research methodologies for the detection of animal populations in the vicinity of offshore wind farms, describe the technologies used to detect the animals, and, where available, discuss any existing mitigation measures or post installation/operation monitoring.

The speakers present on tools they have developed to assess the potential vulnerability of birds to wind energy development.

This webinar will provide a summary of the issues related to bats and wind energy, a brief history of the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative, and its current strategy to address bats and wind energy issues.

This webinar addressed the issue of reducing bat fatalities from land-based wind in the US and central Europe.

The BioFREE (Biofouling in Renewable Energy Environments) project has commenced data collection from biofouling monitoring systems deployed across international marine renewable energy (MRE) test centres.  This webinar will  discuss current environmental research efforts in relation to tackling biofouling.

This webinar will cover The United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Real-time Opportunity for Development Environmental Observations (RODEO) study.

This webinar serves as a follow up to the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE) 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Collision risk to marine animals was discussed, including the regulatory landscape in Scotland and the latest insights from current UK research.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 34, Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN), hosted a webinar, Compensating the Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Birds, on 16 May 2023 from 11:00am-12:00pm EDT (3:00-4:00pm UTC). The webinar provided an overview of the mitigation hierarchy, and discuss compensation measures from the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Speakers:

The initial webinar will focus on the regulatory mechanisms that determine requirements for compensation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) both require compensatory mitigation for individual species if adverse impacts occur at wind energy facilities. Experts will present U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state-specific policies and regulations, including recent policy updates for compensatory mitigation under the ESA, that influence the implementation of compensation measures.

This webinar will introduce two of the more common methods for instituting compensatory mitigation: mitigation banks and in lieu fee programs. Speakers will provide backgrounds on how each of these mechanisms work and provide case studies under which these programs have been used to conserve wildlife affected by wind energy development.

Moderator: Cris Hein, NREL

Speakers: 

Grouse are considered an umbrella species because of their close connection to the surrounding habitat. The prairies and sage-brush where grouse reside are disappearing as a result of many stressors, including invasive species, climate change, and human development. Thus, any new disturbance or loss of habitat can significantly impact the species. Proper siting of wind energy facilities can avoid potential impacts to the species or their habitat, but it is likely that compensation measures will be needed to ensure there is no net loss.

In some cases, alternatives to traditional compensation measures may provide significant conservation value. Examples include conservation actions that occur outside the region of the potential impact and funding research as a means of compensation. This webinar will explore outside-the-box ideas, examples of successful compensation alternatives, and situations in which innovative conservation actions may be necessary. Expert stakeholders will discuss the tradeoffs of implementing alternative compensation measures and when these may or may not be appropriate.

PRIMRE (Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy) is WPTO’s centralized system for storing, curating, and disseminating data and information for all aspects of marine energy. All data and information generated from WPTO national lab, university, and industry projects will find a home somewhere in PRIMRE.

OES-E Environmental provided updates on progress to date and what's to come in the 2024 State of the Science report. OES-Environmental talked about the important role of coordinating and disseminating research on environmental effects of MRE and practical applications of OES-Environmental resources. Joe Haxel from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) Triton initiative and Doug Gillespie from the University of St. Andrew's Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) joined OES-Environmental to discuss their efforts to expand our understanding by highlighting examples from their research around two key stressor-receptor interactions - underwater noise and collision risk.

Join us Jan. 14, 2021, at 11 am EST, when Sandia National Laboratories will present the development of a web-based tool to streamline marine energy system technology design and certification following the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62600-2 technical specification requirements.

Multiple presentations in December 2015 address technologies for bat detection and deterrence.

Dr. Taber Allison of the American Wind Wildlife Institute presented on AWWI’s work on eagles, including the Eagle Research Framework.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Enabling Coexistence Options for Wind Energy and Wildlife (ECO Wind) program is hosting a webinar on the state of knowledge on bat populations from 9:00-10:30 AM PT (4:00-5:30 PM UTC) on 25 October 2022. 

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is hosting a webinar, ‘Understanding Bat Interactions with Wind Turbines’, on 30 August 2022 from 12:00pm–1:00pm (EDT). The webinar will introduce three projects, led by Bowman, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Stantec Consulting Services, focused on using thermal video cameras to monitor bat behavior at wind turbines.

This webinar features three modeling approaches that examine potential changes to physical systems. As wave and tidal devices are installed at commercial scales, measurements may be made to validate the models.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

The U.S. Offshore Wind Synthesis of Environmental Effects Research (SEER) project is hosting a free, public webinar series to share the latest research on the potential environmental effects of offshore wind energy development, including minimization and monitoring strategies. Each webinar will feature brief presentations from experts, a panel discussion, and an audience Q&A period.

Webinar presentations showcase methods for dissemination of valuable environmental data.

In this webinar practices will be discussed for MSP in terms of its support to ocean energy development. Member States are in different phases of MSP development, with some plans already implemented and others in preparation. In this webinar, you will hear experts discussing MSP approaches and opportunities to the ocean energy sector, how some national maritime spatial plans are being implemented and what they can offer to a more effective ocean energy deployment.

The American Wind Wildlife Institute hosted the 17th WREN (Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy) webinar entitled, Experiences from conducting environmental research at land-based and offshore wind energy facilities. 

This webinar will provide a first look at GenEst and how it can be used to estimate fatalities at wind facilities.

This webinar will look at the socio-economic impacts of marine renewable energy (MRE) projects around commercial fisheries by exploring the attitudes of fishermen towards MRE projects under development and perceived socio-economic impacts and opportunities, as well as the co-occurrence and nature of potential interactions between these two industries.

OES-Environmental hosted a public webinar, “From Science to Consenting: OES-Environmental 2022 Highlights”, from 8:00-9:00am PDT (3:00-4:00pm UTC) on September 22, 2022. During this webinar the OES-Environmental team provided updates on risk retirement, guidance documents, and outreach efforts, and will also detail current focus areas for OES-Environmental research. View the recording and other materials below.

This webinar featured an in-depth presentation on AWWI’s Eagle Mitigation and Conservation Toolbox, which includes modeling tools that advance the science needed to facilitate wind energy development while conserving eagles.

La Agencia Internacional de Energía en su Tarea 34 de Energía Eólica (WREN, por sus siglas en Inglés)  organizará su 23º seminario web y su primer seminario web en español, “Energía eólica y vida silvestre: perspectivas desde América Latina”, el 10 de enero de 2024 de 11:00am-12:00 pm PST (7:00pm-8:00 pm UTC). El seminario web contará con ponentes de Argentina, Chile y México.

Vea el folleto en español aquí. 

Oradores: 

Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) is hosting a webinar, Influence of Offshore Wind Turbines on Marine Habitats and Ecosystems, on 3 May from 10:00-11:00am EDT (2:00-3:00pm UTC). The webinar will discuss the state of the science on the impacts of offshore wind turbines on the marine environment, and how researchers monitor and minimize these impacts.

This webinar addresses consenting wave projects in Sweden with the necessary collection of environmental and socio-economic data and on consenting tidal projects in Canada with the necessary collection of economic data.

An instrumentation workshop was held in June of 2013 to discuss the current state of the science for environmental monitoring around MHK devices.

Presenters discuss several approaches aimed at understanding the interactions between marine mammals and diving seabirds around wave and tidal energy devices.

Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) hosted a webinar on 29 June 2022 from 10:00-11:00am EDT (2:00-3:00pm UTC) to present the results of the WREN Horizon Scan. 

The webinar highlighted results of stakeholder feedback from 294 responses across 28 countries identifying environmental priorities related to land-based and offshore wind energy development. Panelists from several WREN member countries will provide their perspective on the assessment and priority research within the next 5-10 years.

The Tethys team has partnered with IEA Wind’s WREN Initiative to collect information, or metadata, on the environmental effects of offshore wind energy projects on marine animals, habitats, and ecosystem processes. By making this information available, Tethys and WREN aim to enhance transparency around environmental monitoring efforts to progress the global state of knowledge and advance the industry in an environmentally responsible manner.

The Portal and Repository for Information on Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMRE) team recently launched a new and improved version of Telesto, which is home to open-source wiki pages, structured databases, and tools that provide information about the development life cycle of marine energy.

A new website, called Tethys Engineering, is being launched that will cover the technical and engineering aspects of the MRE industry. This webinar will walk through the new website, highlighting new content and features.

The webinar is a showcase of outcomes of an EPSRC grant funded project. In particular we will show the development and the availability of a range of numerical methods to assess various potential environmental impact of large arrays of tidal and wave energy devices.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory hosted a webinar on March 31st from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET to share new developments in the Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT), an open-source software package developed in Python and Matlab that includes modules for ingesting, quality controlling, processing, visualizing, and managing marine energy data. The webinar introduced new functionality in the package, and included demonstrations in Python.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted an informational Marine Energy Career Panel featuring National Laboratory staff working to advance the marine energy industry on April 10, 2023. The webinar was aimed at current students and those interested in working in the marine energy industry.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted an informational Marine Energy Career Panel on February 7, 2024. The panel featured National Laboratory staff from PNNL, NREL, and Sandia National Laboratories working to advance the marine energy industry.