Abstract
The development of a Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) sector is increasingly becoming one of the key low-carbon energy solutions for coastal nations in their drive both to tackle the impacts of a changing climate and to provide energy security in the face of this global challenge. While MRE development has led to significant growth in the design, testing and deployment of novel technologies, the challenge of gaining permissions to test and deploy these installations and the lack of detailed quantitative data as to their impact on the environment has represented a block to progress. While certainty about the impacts of the devices is some way off, there is an opportunity in the meantime to revisit consenting processes in order to determine whether changes to these could help to release this bottleneck.
One potential solution is the use of Adaptive Management (AM), a now widely-used learning-based process, whereby management approaches can be adapted as lessons are learned throughout a project. Using AM, the collection of regular monitoring data both informs any adaptations made and reduces scientific uncertainty in future management decisions. One aspect of AM is the incorporation of a Risk-Based Approaches (RBA), whereby an assessment of risk is used in the decision-making process when managing a project. Risk-based procedures already play an explicit and important role in a number of environmental regulations and associated guidance documents in various countries. It is clear that RBA may also clear the way for more streamlined and timely development of MRE projects, but the practical possibilities around this have not yet been explored. The purpose of this report is to explore the use of RBA further in the MRE space and to review the current state of knowledge around the use of RBA, analyse the different approaches, examine the practical application of RBA and make recommendations as to what work might be required to progress this area.
The report identifies five RBAs that have been developed for practical use in the implementation of different policies globally: The ISO Standards, The Survey Deploy Monitor approach, the Environmental Risk Evaluation System, the Risk Retirement approach and the Ecological Risk Assessment approach. These five approaches are summarised and the relationships between the approaches are explored. An overview of the legal considerations around the use of RBAs within the EU is also provided. Finally, the practical application of RBAs in Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal are investigated, and some conclusions and recommendations are made to help advance this area of work to allow a fuller understanding of the potential role of RBAs to emerge.