Tethys knowledge management system: Working to advance the marine renewable energy industry

Jonathan Whiting,Andrea Copping,Amy Woodbury,Mikaela Freeman

doi:10.36688/imej.2.29-38

Jonathan Whiting, Andrea Copping + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.36688/imej.2.29-38

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Abstract

Development of the marine renewable energy (MRE) industry has been challenged by uncertainty about potential environmental effects, which has resulted in slowing of permitting/consenting processes, and ultimately to constraints on the industry. These challenges result from a lack of sufficient devices in the water from which to learn, a dearth of quality monitoring data, and a lack of accessibility to information about these effects in general. This paper describes an ongoing process to improve understanding of the environmental effects of MRE through a public, online knowledge management system funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, known as Tethys (https://tethys.pnnl.gov). Tethys collects and curates relevant documents while supporting a diverse international community through intentional outreach and synthesis activities, which occurs largely through an international collaboration under the IEA Ocean Energy System’s OES-Environmental, formerly known as Annex IV. After nearly ten years of operation, Tethys is internationally recognized and viewed as a trusted broker of information, with over 75,000 visitors annually. Tethys has provided clarity around environmental effects during a critical time in the industry when deployments are increasing in size and frequency.

Highlights

AS countries seek to meet renewable energy goals and diversify their national energy portfolios, marine renewable energy (MRE) devices that capture energy from ocean tides, waves, and currents are under development
The industry has been largely driven by small businesses that often focus on the challenges of efficiency and survivability while neglecting the need to address permitting/consenting requirements, most of which are concerned with potential environmental effects
Numerous presentations at MRE conferences have mentioned or promoted Tethys as a helpful tool for research and/or directly linked to publications on Tethys. This has been observed at International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE), Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR), European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC), Marine Energy Technology Symposium (METS), and Ocean Renewable Energy Conference (OREC)

Summary

Introduction

AS countries seek to meet renewable energy goals and diversify their national energy portfolios, marine renewable energy (MRE) devices that capture energy from ocean tides, waves, and currents are under development. The primary challenges facing this industry include designing devices that harvest energy efficiently, surviving the harsh ocean environment, and reducing potential impacts to the marine environment ‎[1]. The industry has been largely driven by small businesses that often focus on the challenges of efficiency and survivability while neglecting the need to address permitting/consenting requirements, most of which are concerned with potential environmental effects. Stakeholder concerns about potential environmental effects appear to be based on the novelty of the technologies, the entry of MRE as new users of the ocean space, and concerns of negative outcomes for specific animal populations, many of which are already under stress from climate change and other anthropogenic activities. Stakeholder concerns about the potential environmental effects of MRE have contributed to the delay or abandonment of some proposed MRE projects, which has hindered overall progress of the MRE industry ‎[4]

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