The European Technology and Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy (ETIP Ocean) has organized a webinar to discuss methods to minimize the potential environmental impacts of ocean energy devices.
The webinar, to be held on August 29, 2017, will host Diane Dhomé, Project Manager for French tidal energy developer Sabella, and another speaker from the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).
Sabella and EMEC have both recently conducted extended environmental monitoring around their deployed ocean energy devices, and the representatives from both organizations will share their results and experience during the webinar.
The environmental impacts of deploying ocean energy devices have to be considered during all stages of project’s development and operation, according to ETIP Ocean.
With little real data collected so far, it is difficult to make plans, strategies and adjustments to minimize possible environmental impacts, which can also create problems at the consenting stage, as the public authorities are uncertain regarding what Environmental Impact Assessments should include and what monitoring should be mandated, ETIP Ocean said.
The webinar requires registration , and the participants will have the chance to discuss the findings and bring forward their own expertise, ETIP Ocean noted.
ETIP Ocean is regarded as an advisory body to the European Commission. It is managed by Ocean Energy Europe and the University of Edinburgh, bringing together around 250 experts from 150 organizations covering the entire European ocean energy sector.