[EN]
WORKPLAN
The WESE Project has been structured in seven work packages, including two operational work packages, for the management of the project (WP1) and the exploitation of its results (WP7) and five core work packages (WPs 2 to 6):. Work package 2 and 3 will focus on environmental monitoring (WP2) around devices operating at sea in Spain and Portugal (Marmok-A-5 and Mutriku OWC plant in the Basque Country and WaveRoller in Peniche) and modelling (WP3) of future cumulative pressures and impacts in relation to the following environmental aspects:
- Underwater and aerial sound propagation: animals use sound in marine environments for communication, social interaction, orientation, predation and evasion. The addition of anthropogenic noise sources from operational wave devices may induce behavioural changes in marine animals;
- Energy removal: in marine environments, physical systems act as drivers for the sustainability and health of organisms. The installation of wave devices may affect the system by changing natural flow patterns around devices, which can alter sediment distribution and transport. A small number of wave devices will not create measurable changes, but large commercial arrays might change the physical system over time;
- Electromagnetic fields (EMFs): occur naturally in the marine environment, while anthropogenic activities may create altered or additional sources of EMF, including those from wave devices export cables; cables are commonly buried in or lying on the seabed, while inter-device cables may be suspended in the water column;
- Seafloor integrity: the installation of wave devices alters benthic (bottom) habitats by the addition of gravity foundations, piles, or anchors, as well as the sweep of mooring lines, cables, and mechanical moving parts.
Time-consuming consenting processes linked to uncertainty about project impacts and the need to consult with numerous stakeholders before reaching a permitting decision, appear to be the main obstacles to consenting wave energy projects. A review of consenting procedures will be carried out under WP4 for both Spain and Portugal. Building on the findings of previous activities, recommendations for more efficient procedures will be discussed through workshops and regular meetings with the main consenting bodies and other stakeholders in each country. Consenting process guidance's will be produced to help streamlining these procedures, considering a risk-based approach. The risk-based approach to survey and consenting is an element of adaptive management, which in turn is a structured process that enables learning by doing and adapting based on what is learned. This is an important process to implement when environmental impacts uncertainty exists, to better guide monitoring activities towards risks (and impacts) quantification.
The rationale of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is to provide a stable and transparent planning system for maritime activities and users within agreed environmental limits to ensure marine ecosystems and their biodiversity remain healthy. Building on existing wave energy projects in Portugal and Spain, a Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Decision Support Tool (DST), will be developed for site selection under WP5 for both countries. These DSTs will relay on the knowledge acquired in the above activities including the promoted risk-based approach for environmental aspects consideration. Moreover, it will also consider other relevant sources of information such as potential of wave energy resource in the Atlantic area, distribution of other potentially conflicting maritime activities, legally excluded areas, important areas for relevant environmental components, and other suitability parameters that could be used to identify most suitable areas for the development of MRE.
All data produced under the project will be compiled in a dedicated data sharing platform, which will be developed under WP6. This platform will serve data providers, developers, regulators and other stakeholders, including project partners. The WESE Data Platform will be made of a number of ICT services in order to have a single web access point to relevant data, generation of Open Geospatial Consortium compliant requests to access data via command line (advanced users), a dedicated cloud server to store frequently used data or data that may not fit in existing data portals and synchronized biological data and environmental parameters in order to feed models automatically. Ultimately, the Data Platform aims to inform the consenting of ocean wave energy deployments.
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WaveRoller device installed in Peniche, Portugal (credits AW Energy). |
