Abstract
Data collection and monitoring for offshore wind (OSW) energy development should be question-driven and scientifically robust; otherwise, funding spent on wildlife monitoring may not meaningfully inform future environmental assessments and adaptive management decisions (Wilding et al. 2017). There is currently no comprehensive synthesis of the technologies available to collect statistically robust wildlife data at OSW facilities, inform adaptive management, and reduce precautionary mitigation. Similarly, there is currently no comprehensive evaluation of the capacity of monitoring technologies to be integrated into normal operations and maintenance of windfarms. This project, “Technology Solutions to Mitigate Use Conflicts: Technology Needs for Scientifically Robust Wildlife Monitoring and Adaptive Management,” aims to inform technology development relative to the following:
• Achieving statistically robust studies that can inform understanding of the effects of OSW energy development on birds and marine mammals, as well as mitigation and adaptive management of observed effects; and
• Integrating monitoring technologies into OSW operations.
The project incorporates input from a wide range of stakeholders via an expert Project Advisory Board, as well as workshops and individual expert engagement efforts with research scientists, resource managers, turbine engineers, technology developers, and OSW operation and maintenance specialists.
The first task of this project was to write a memo to compile the most up-to-date information on priority conflicts that are likely to become barriers to OSW progress as environmental compliance issues or stakeholder concerns. This assessment was written by Advisian, Worley Group in collaboration with Biodiversity Research Institute and focused on:
• Identifying areas of potential conflict for bird and marine mammal species in the U.S. Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes regions.
• Species of marine mammals and birds that could be impacted by OSW development, along with the known issues where data gaps exist, proxies are not available, or there is significant uncertainty.
• Providing an overview of potential OSW cumulative effects on marine mammals and birds; and
• Identifying research topics that have been highlighted by experts as priorities for research and monitoring as the industry progresses.
Based on the findings of this memo, priority questions were identified and used to guide the discussion during two workshops with SMEs. The workshops focused on identifying:
• The technologies and methods (including sample size and scale considerations) needed to answer priority research questions;
• Factors influencing the level of uncertainty in results produced by these technologies;
• Major bottlenecks and limitations of available methods/technologies that additional R&D could address; and
• Ideas to streamline bottlenecks.
This report focuses on marine mammal monitoring and the findings from the marine mammal SME workshop. A similar workshop was conducted for birds and findings are reported in a separate document, titled “Technology Gaps for Bird Monitoring in Relation to Offshore Wind Development.” Subsequent project activities will focus on documenting the technical specifications and capabilities of existing monitoring technologies, identifying limitations and opportunities for integrating monitoring technologies into OSW infrastructure and operational procedures, and synthesizing findings into a final project report with targeted recommendations for R&D of bird and marine mammal monitoring technologies. This report summarizes the predominant technologies, uncertainties, bottlenecks, and potential solutions that were identified by marine mammal SMEs as part of the Task #2 workshops.