Abstract
The generation of offshore energy is a rapidly growing sector, competing for space in an already busy seascape. This book brings together the ecological, economic, and social implications of the spatial conflict this growth entails. Covering all energy-generation types (wind, wave, tidal, oil, and gas), it explores the direct and indirect impacts the growth of offshore energy generation has on both the marine environment and the existing uses of marine space.
Chapters explore main issues associated with offshore energy, such as the displacement of existing activities and the negative impacts it can have on marine species and ecosystems. Chapters also discuss how the growth of offshore energy generation presents new opportunities for collaboration and co-location with other sectors, for example, the co-location of wild-capture fisheries and wind farms.
The book integrates these issues and opportunities, and demonstrates the importance of holistic marine spatial planning for optimising the location of offshore energy-generation sites. It highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement in these planning processes and the role of integrated governance, with illustrative case studies from the United States, United Kingdom, northern Europe, and the Mediterranean. It also discusses trade-off analysis and decision theory and provides a range of tools and best practices to inform future planning processes.
Introduction:
The global demand for energy continues to grow, with a projected 30% increase over the next 25 years (International Energy Agency 2016). By 2022, global spending on offshore oil and gas development and operations is estimated to be US$114 billion, which is more than 2.5 times the US$43 billion spent in 2012 (Marine Board 2013). New, highly lucrative resource discoveries are being made regularly (Chapter 14), and multibillion-dollar investments in previously unexplored areas are announced every year (Eurasia Group 2014; Mann 2016). Likewise, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (www.eesi.org) predicts substantial growth in offshore renewable-energy generation, with more than seven times the capacity expected in 2020 compared to 2015, and potentially more than triple the 2020 capacity by 2030 (Small et al. 2016). As many countries endeavour to meet international obligations to reduce carbon emissions (EC 2015; Heard et al. 2017), the expansion of renewable energy becomes incorporated into national strategic priorities (e.g., Department for the Economy 2009), with some countries boldly committing to legally binding targets for renewable-energy production (EC 2007; International Energy Agency 2014). Much of the increase in renewable-energy generation is focussed on offshore areas: offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy (also referred to as ‘ocean energy’). Indeed, offshore renewable-energy generation is expected to expand markedly in Europe and across the world (Ecofys 2014; EC 2015; International Energy Agency 2015), with predictions that as much as 7% of the total global electrical energy will be generated from marine renewables by 2050 (Esteban and Leary 2012).
Table of Contents:
Marine Spatial Planning
Charles Ehler
Pages 6-17
Methods and utility of ecosystem service trade-off analysis for guiding marine planning of offshore energy
Joel Stevens, Sarah Lester and Crow White
Pages 18-33
It starts with a conversation
Johanna Polsenberg and Anna Kilponen
Pages 34-55
Challenges and opportunities for governance in marine spatial planning
Lucy Greenhill
Pages 56-73
Legal aspects of marine spatial planning
Erik van Doorn and Sarah Fiona Gahlen
Pages 74-87
Displacement of existing activities
Andronikos Kafas, Penelope Donohue, Ian Davies and Beth Scott
Pages 88-112
Tracing regime shifts in the provision of coastal-marine cultural ecosystem services
Kira Gee and Benjamin Burkhard
Pages 113-131
Environmental implications of offshore energy
Andrew Gill, Silvana Birchenough, Alice Jones, Adrian Judd, Simon Jude, Ana Payo-Payo and Ben Wilson
Pages 132-168
Meaningful stakeholder participation in marine spatial planning with offshore energy
Katherine Yates
Pages 169-188
Capturing benefits
Tara Hooper, Matthew Ashley and Melanie Austen
Pages 189-213
Compatibility of offshore energy installations with marine protected areas
Ruth Thurstan, Katherine Yates and Bethan O’Leary
Pages 214-230
Marine spatial planning and stakeholder collaboration
Priscilla Brooks and Tricia Jedele
Pages 231-245
Co-locating offshore wind farms and marine protected areas
Matthew Ashley, Melanie Austen, Lynda Rodwell and Stephen Mangi
Pages 246-259
Conservation challenges in the face of new hydrocarbon discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea
Tessa Mazor, Noam Levin, Eran Brokovich and Salit Kark
Pages 260-273
Siting offshore energy arrays
Karen Alexander, Ron Janssen and Timothy O’Higgins
Pages 274-283
The future of marine spatial planning
Corey Bradshaw, Lucy Greenhill and Katherine Yates
Pages 284-293