Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Power and Fisheries

Prof. Jeremy FirestoneAlison Bates

University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean & Environment

August 13, 2013

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STATE OF THE WORLD OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Figures and Tables Source: EWEA

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Substructures Cumulative

www.theengineer.co.uk

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European Substructures 2012

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New Generation Turbines• Siemens 6MW, 154m

rotor

• Alstom, 6MW, 150m rotor

• Areva, 5MW, 135m rotor

• Repower, 5MW, 128m rotor

• Vestas, 7MW, 164m rotor (planned)

• Mitsuhishi, 7MW, 165m rotor (planned)

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Spacing• Moving toward 8x8 rotor diameters

• Moving toward 1.2 km to 1.3km between wind turbines

(0.65 - 0.7 nautical miles)

www.vestas.com

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Example offshore system layout from:Søren Juel Petersen, Rambøll Wind Energy (talk at UD, 2 Oct

06)

12Nysted Offshore Wind Farm, Denmark – Nov. 2006

OFFSHORE WIND IN THE UNITED STATES

PLANNING FOR CONFLICTS AND COMPATIBILITIES

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• 330,000 MW• Average current

use: 73,000 MW

Kempton, et al 2007

The largest shallow offshore resource in US is in the Mid-Atlantic

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Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind Projects

• New York (NYPA/LIPA/Con-ed)– up to 700 MW100 turbines, preliminary stage

• New Jersey– 1100 MW “Planned”– NJ BPU denies approval of Fishermen’s Energy Demonstration

Project• Delaware (Bluewater, 230 MW)

– Has federal lease, but long-term power purchase contracts abandoned.

• Maryland– Minimum 200MW planned per state legislation

• Virginia– Lease sale on September 4, 2013– Research leases

• North Carolina

Offshore Wind Planning Areas• Department of Energy

Goals– 10GW by 2020– 54GW by 2030

• Department of the Interior early planning for wind development

• Wind Energy Areas in the Mid-Atlantic

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Marine Spatial Planning• More extensively used in Europe to

assist in planning for offshore wind projects and other existing ocean uses

• National Ocean Policy signed in 2010

• Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body– State, Federal & Tribal

representatives– Stakeholder input

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MSP: How to simply? How to Quantify Tradeoffs?

• In an increasingly crowded ocean, where uses evolved organically without regard to other users, how do we put aside our parochial interests, and advance the wider public interest?

– Start be examining ways in which we might re-arrange the deck chairs

– Examine where there are potentially large gains from “trades,” particularly, where costs are minimal

• Easiest is to look at just two uses at a time

Samoteskul, et al 2013

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Mid-Atlantic Vessel Traffic Densityand potential Wind Energy Areas (Purple) if Ships

continue status quo transits

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Wind Energy Areas that could be developed if Ships transit further from shore

Redirected Traffic Route and New Wind Energy Areas

Cost-Benefit ConsiderationsCommercial Vessel

Costs

• Greater labor costs

• Greater fuel costs

• Earlier ship replacement

• Greater social costs – (e.g., carbon and SO2

emissions)

Offshore Wind PowerBenefits

• Lower materials and installation costs & lower debt payments– True, even with less power

generation per installed MW, leading to more turbines

• Decreased O&M costs

• Smaller transmission losses

• Lower social costs27

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Commercial Fishing

• How to account for commercial fishing as a valuable existing ocean use

• Look for ways for the two industries to be compatible

• Evaluate the effects of wind development on both fish species and on fishing as an industry

Image: Coonamessett Farm Foundation

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Artificial Reefs• Scour protection materials

are installed at the base of turbine foundations

• Potential for attraction or habitat creation for fish species by adding seafloor complexity

• Material selection can in part determine the species assemblages that will be formed – Synthetic Fronds– Gravel Protection– Boulders

www.dongenergy.org

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Electromagnetic Fields• Cables connect between wind

turbines and to shore

• Electric fields are shielded, magnetic are not

• Many fish and crustaceans are sensitive to magnetic fields; elasmobranchs use EM fields for hunting prey

• Several species have exhibited behavioral changes in response underwater cables– Altered swimming patterns– Congregation near cable– Avoidance to cross cable

www.futurelab.com

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Noise• Fish use sound for communication, orientation,

identification or predators and prey, and to find conspecifics

• Noise can be generated during wind farm construction, operation and decommission

– Vessels– Pile driving– Blades – Cutting and removal of foundation

• Impact depends on many factors– Behavior– Prior exposure– Hearing capability

• Stress, altered behavior, avoidance, changes in growth/reproduction, injury, mortality

• Noise mitigation measures can

reduce the impact on fish

Image: HYDROTECHNIK LÜBECK

The European Experience• Horns Rev (Denmark) – species richness and abundance

increased after installation, likely due to more prey availability (Dong Energy, 2006)

• OWEZ (Netherlands) – overall fish species richness and CPUE were unchanged, although some species showed an increase (e.g. sole, whiting) and others decreased (e.g. lesser weaver) (Lindeboom et al., 2011)

• Bligh Bank (Belgium) – significant decrease in benthic fish density one year after construction; neighboring Thorntonbank significant density differences in only part of project area (Coates & Vincx, 2010)

• Lillgrund (Sweden) – no major effects on diversity or abundance of benthic fish communities (Bergtstrom et al., 2013)

• From a conservation perspective, impact on populations more important than impact on individual fish; long-term, cumulative impacts on fish populations is an ongoing focal point of research (Hawkins, 2011)

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Wind/Fisheries Research at UD

• Identify gear/fishing classifications to look at the industry impacts

• Quantify the economic impact of conflict areas by assuming levels of ‘de-facto’ exclusion due to gear restrictions or safety

• Suggest areas for wind development that would be least conflicting both spatially and economically as the MSP process moves forward 33

jf@udel.eduabates@udel.edu www.carbonfree.udel.eduwww.ocean.udel.edu/windpower

Thank you