Abstract
The development of an Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) sector is increasingly becoming one of the key low-carbon energy solutions for coastal nations in their drive to tackle both the impacts of a changing climate and to provide energy security in the face of these global challenges. 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.
SafeWAVE Deliverable 5.2 explored the use of ecological or environmental Risk Based Approaches (RBA) in the ORE development context, which is one potential solution to streamline consenting processes. Deliverable 5.3 built on this work and presented a “simple stepwise approach” which reduced the complexity of the RBA but ensured that relevant scientific work was considered. In this Deliverable 5.4, the intention was to present the Risk-based Approach in the form of a guidance document to include the outcome of consultation with developers and regulators in France and Ireland.
It is important to recognise that this document does not constitute formal guidance, endorsed by national consenting bodies or agencies. Rather it is intended to explain how the principles of RBA and adaptive management could be incorporated into consenting processes and in that way inform licensing processes that better reflect environmental realities. The approach taken involved providing a draft of this document to interested parties in both France and Ireland. Workshops were held with relevant stakeholders in France and Ireland to discuss the concepts and garner their views on how the approaches proposed could be incorporated into existing consenting systems. When considering the findings from these workshops, there is clearly a need for more direct evidence before regulators, developers and consultants feel confident that they can fully engage and understand the benefits and improvements RBA might offer. Although this deliverable is termed ‘a guidance document’, there is limited guidance we can put forward given the above statement. Wider roll-out of RBAs is dependent on additional evidence from developments. This evidence can only be collected when more developments have been consented and additional experience with the authorisation of such projects has occurred. From the outset, however, it is essential that RBA is complimentary to the existing regulatory frameworks in individual countries and that it adds value to the overall consenting process rather than becoming an additional procedure.