Abstract
A working group was convened by The Crown Estate to focus on exploring routes to refine the consenting process for marine renewable energy sites under 3MW. One proposal considered the development of a tool to facilitate the assessment of connectivity between small marine renewable energy project sites and the features of designated European marine sites, or the ‘Natura 2000’ network. To clarify understanding of available tools, The Crown Estate commissioned a review of existing resources which could have the potential to contribute to the assessment of connectivity under the Habitats Regulations.
The following report documents the review process. Overall the review identified a comprehensive set of resources in the form of sensitivity analysis tools, interactive GIS databases, site information tools, guidance and policy documents, and reports. In total, twenty three resources (including two categories of clustered resources) were reviewed for their potential application in assessing connectivity.