TY - CONF
TI - Collaborative Whale Detection Technology Evaluation Virtual Workshop Series
AU - Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC)
T2 - RWSC Technology Workshop Series - Session #1
AB - A collaborative virtual workshop series is being hosted by the RWSC, the Marine TechnologySociety (MTS), and the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), in partnership with the Pacific NorthwestNational Laboratory (PNNL) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with support fromthe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and contributions from NOAA Fisheries, the Bureau of OceanEnergy Management (BOEM), and Turn Forward to identify models, technologies, and informationfrom other sectors, research areas, and potential partners in support of whale conservation andresponsible offshore wind development.The objective of the series is to assess the state of the science and metrics for evaluatingtechnologies, tools, and methods for monitoring baleen whales specifically during sound producingoffshore wind construction activities. PNNL and NREL are leading the development ofthe technical workshop materials and outputs, with input from DOE, NOAA, and BOEM. RWSC,MTS, and CBI are providing the forum, workshop facilitation, and are developing workshopproceedings for each session that capture participant input and discussion.The second session of the Collaborative Technology Workshop Series was held virtually on June 26,2024. This report summarizes discussions and key takeaways from this second session. Theobjectives for this session were to:Be updated by PNNL and NREL on their technology characterization report developmentprocess, including how the report is evolving since the first workshop and how experts arebeing engaged.Discuss technology validation and evaluation approaches.Learn about real-world technology implementation including a summary of currentrequirements for monitoring during piledriving and perspectives on how humans in the fieldimplement and interpret the data from technologies.Materials from this session including an agenda and draft products produced by PNNL and NRELcan be found here: https://bit.ly/46lBFeZFacilitated by CBI, workshop participants heard introductory presentations from DOE, RWSC,PNNL and NREL. RWSC presented synthesized information across current regulatory documentsto demonstrate the range of sizes of clearance and shutdown zones during offshore windconstruction across activity types, geographies, and species. A panel of offshore wind industrymembers discussed considerations around human decision making and communication related tothe selection and deployment of technology and the challenging offshore environment.Below are the key takeaways from the workshop:The PNNL and NREL report will outline a proposed three-phase approach forcharacterizing technologies for marine mammal monitoring during pile driving foroffshore wind construction, focusing on potentially standardizing the process ofselecting, testing, and validating these technologies. Their approach covers systemdesign, evaluation and field validation planning, and field validation execution. The finalreport will focus on potential performance metrics without endorsing specific productsor operational performance thresholds, and will highlight the significance of emergingtechnologies in multi-modal monitoring systems. The draft final report will becompleted by the end of September 2024.The PNNL and NREL have developed a Zotero Library that includes all the referencesused to develop the report.From the synthesis of current marine mammal monitoring requirements during offshorewind pile driving, it was clear that there are needs for:Flexibility in technology evaluations as there are unique aspects for eachproject.Real-time detections (<5-10 minutes), as they help trigger actions for monitoringin a timely manner.The ability to speciate without reliance on noise signatures as animals may besilent. This is important as monitoring actions have different requirements.Detection capabilities at a flexible range of distances, platforms, heights, andenvironmental conditions even within a project.There are many involved with technology use during offshore wind construction, fromselection to deployment to interpretation. The technologies deployed must work withincomplex regulatory frameworks and in non-ideal testing conditions. Despite this, apanel of offshore wind industry members generally agreed that the two factors thatinfluence technology's real-world performance the most are performance givenenvironmental conditions and species behavior, and not human operationalconsiderations.The volume of monitoring data collected during construction can be large, oftencausing data transmission, storage and general data management challenges.
DA - 2024/07//
PY - 2024
SP - 15
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Noise
KW - Marine Mammals
KW - Cetaceans
ER -