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. If you are interested in providing content to be featured as a Tethys Story, please email tethys@pnnl.gov.
- A recent article in Current Biology entitled Marine mammals trace anthropogenic structures at sea highlights how marine mammals may interact with offshore windfarms. As new larger scale installations become more common, research of this kind will support observations of in situ array-scale impacts of windfarms. A team of scientists, headed by Deborah Russell of the Sea Mammal Research Unit (… Read More
- As wave and tidal devices are deployed in coastal waters and estuaries in countries around the world, there is intense interest in understanding how marine mammals, sea birds, fish, and sea turtles may interact with the machines underwater. Will animals be at risk from rotating tidal turbine blades? Will they be attracted to the foundations, anchors, and devices? Will they sense the mooring… Read More
- Currently, Europe is the world-leader in offshore wind energy developments, with the first offshore wind farm installed in Denmark in 1991. Since then, offshore wind energy projects in Europe have been supplying significant amounts of power to European grids, with the United Kingdom having the largest capacity of offshore wind farms, and Denmark and Belgium ranking second and third, respectively… Read More
- Siting and permitting/consenting tidal turbines and wave energy converters is a major challenge to the marine energy industry, as many people envision harm coming to marine animals. With many marine mammals holding endangered species status, this issue can adversely impact the public acceptance of marine renewable energy. Researchers in Scotland are developing methods to examine interactions, and… Read More
- The plans for Reedsport Wave Park were discontinued in April when Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) abandoned a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deploy a PowerBuoy off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon due to inability to secure funding for the project when faced with increased costs. It was the only FERC license issued to a wave energy project in the United States,… Read More
- Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) approved a pilot license for Snohomish County PUD to install two OpenHydro tidal turbines in Admiralty Inlet, WA. This project is the first grid-connected two-turbine project in the US; installation is planned for the summer of 2015. The OpenHydro tidal turbines that Snohomish County PUD will use are designed to be placed directly into… Read More
- The presence of wave energy devices off the Pacific coast of the United States could pose a threat to Pacific gray whales. The whales migrate approximately 15,000 - 200,000 km round trip between their primary feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and their calving and primary breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico. Investigations using conceptual and individual-based models may help… Read More
- DeepCwind is a consortium that is planning to launch two direct drive 6 MW Goldwind turbines inside state waters, about 2.8 miles south of Monhegan Island, Maine. The island is home to full-time residents who have expressed interest in the noise effects of the project. To address this issue, the air-based sound attenuation surrounding the site was modeled using WindPRO software. WindPRO software… Read More
- The London Array is a massive 630 MW windfarm, comprised of 175 Siemens 3.6 MW turbines located about 20 km from the coasts of Kent and Essex. After 28 months of construction and a €2.2 billion cost, the farm was officially inaugurated on July 4th 2013. Dong Energy (50%), E.ON (30%), and Masdar (20%) are the stakeholders for this project, which will supply energy to an estimated 500,000 homes. It… Read More
- On May 31st, 2013 a project led by the University of Maine deployed a 1:8 scale demonstration turbine off the coast of Castine, Maine. The new 65-foot-tall VolturnUS prototype is composed of a floating concrete base and a light-weight composite tower to help reduce the overall cost of the system. This project is associated with a larger commercial demonstration project called Aqua Ventus I that… Read More
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