• COWRIE
  
  • New strand of work for COWRIE called ‘Futures’
  • New COWRIE Executive appointed
  • Launch of new COWRIE website

• Environment
  
  • New subgroup formed for fish, shellfish and benthos
  • New research projects selected
  • Progress on existing projects
  • Projects at outline stage

• Data Management
  
  • Data and Information Management system: developer training seminars
  • New data projects

• Education and Communications
  
  • Graduate and Postgraduate Awards for Environmental Research into Marine Renewable Energy
  • COWRIE participation and sponsorship of the International Scientific Meeting on Marine Renewable Energy and the Environment – MAREE 2008

• Guidance for Assessment of Cumulative Impacts on the Historic Environment from Offshore Renewable Energy (February 2008)
• Trial High Definition Video Survey of Seabirds (December 2007)
• Further use of aerial surveys to detect bird displacement by offshore windfarms (December 2007)
• COWRIE workshop on the cumulative impact of offshore windfarms on birds – 3rd May 2007, Peterborough (November 2007)
• Potential use of population viability analysis to assess the impact of offshore windfarms on bird populations (November 2007)
• Radar in-fill for the Greater Wash Area Feasibility Study (October 2007)
• Assessment of the potential for acoustic deterrents to mitigate the impact on marine mammals of underwater noise arising from the construction of offshore windfarms (October 2007)
• Assessment and costs of potential engineering solutions for the mitigation of the impacts of underwater noise arising from the construction of offshore windfarms (October 2007)

COWRIE

New strand of work for COWRIE called ‘Futures’

COWRIE has recently introduced a new working group to its portfolio. The new Futures group will work to allocate COWRIE funds towards projects with the aim to collect data to feed into and dovetail the Round 3 Strategic Environmental Assessment process. The group will look towards the next stages of offshore wind and marine renewable energy projects and fund projects that can address questions and information gaps in those areas.

David Still, Chair of the Futures working group and member of the COWRIE Board of Trustees, said “This improved environmental information will speed up SEA approval and development. It will be important to know the size of potential areas, information gaps and cost per hectare to fill these before leases are allocated.”

New COWRIE Executive appointed

COWRIE has appointed Georgia Boston to take on a new Executive role within COWRIE. The role is to undertake strategic work on behalf of COWRIE, identifying new projects and funding opportunities. The role will focus on the new Futures strand of COWRIE which will complement the on-going SEA work for Round 3 as well as pre-development work.

Georgia will be working for COWRIE on a part time basis and will attend meetings to provide a link between the different Working Groups. Georgia also sits on the BWEA Consents and Licensing group which enables close involvement of the industry in this process.

Launch of new COWRIE website

The new COWRIE website is due to be launched at the end of May which will contain even more information on offshore wind including an interactive map of all the UK offshore windfarm sites. E-bloc, who are re-designing and hosting the new website, will also be creating education resources and links for both teachers and students. There will be an interactive section designed to provide a growing selection of learning activities over time. In doing so COWRIE hopes to encourage pupils to use the website as well as interactive learning elements so they become familiar with using conventional technologies to achieve work objectives and gain valuable knowledge about marine renewable energy.

Working Group Activities

Environment Technical Working Group

New subgroup formed for fish, shellfish and benthos

Following the success of the marine mammal subgroup and the bird subgroup, the Environment Working Group decided to form another subgroup dedicated to progressing those projects related to fish, shellfish and benthos that have been identified by the COWRIE steering group as a priority. The newly formed group is made up of representatives from CEFAS, CCW, FRS and the offshore wind industry. The group are currently considering a project to study the effects of pile-driving noise on the behaviour of marine fish. 

New research projects selected

The Environment Technical Working Group (ETWG) – please click here for a list of Working Group members – met in May 2008.

• Several projects are being taken forward as a priority:
• Use of radar for post-construction bird monitoring purposes;
• Satellite tracking of Whooper swans
• Acoustic deterrents
• Cumulative impacts workshop
• Effect of pile driving noise on the behaviour of marine fish

For future tender opportunities, please click here

Progress on Existing Projects

Following the trial high definition video survey of seabirds carried out by HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd last year, COWRIE have contracted HiDef to carry out further work on this technique. A full scale demonstration of aerial video surveying for seabird census at offshore windfarm sites will be carried out and information published in July 2008.

BioConsult SH were awarded a contract to carry out a study of the methodologies for measuring and assessing potential changes in marine mammal behaviour, abundance or distribution arising from the construction, operation and decommissioning of offshore windfarms. BioConsult have recently submitted the final report (May 2008) and this will undergo a three month review period on the COWRIE website.

The second stage of the Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) study is well underway with the draft report under review by the COWRIE environment working group. The project has experienced some difficulties in collecting sufficient numbers of spurdogs and have reverted to using the lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula). Problems with the equipment hired to produce the required EMF have also led to delays with the project. However, the mesocosms were deployed in June 2007 and have now been in situ for over nine months and with some routine maintenance they are both standing up to the conditions well. The final report will be published on the website next month.

The project on potential impact of underwater noise and vibration, which started in 2003, is near completion. Subacoustech have completed sets of noise measurements during piling and operation of five offshore windfarms - Burbo Bank, Barrow, North Hoyle, Kentish Flats and Scroby Sands. Subacoustech have looked at the range over which the noise remains above the ambient sea noise, and any behavioural impact on marine species in close proximity to the turbines.

Data Management Working Group

Data and Information Management System: developer training seminars

The website (http://data.offshorewind.co.uk) is now fully operational and the GeoData Institute, who are responsible for the COWRIE Data Management and Coordination Programme, are in the process of updating the system with the monitoring data that was collected during Round 2. A full-time Data Officer, Gemma Doneghan, has been appointed by GeoData Institute to provide full support to developers submitting monitoring data as specified under their lease agreement. Further COWRIE Developer Data and Information Seminars are planned for this year to provide developers with guidance on data handling and will enable them to set up their own data management plans. The first seminar will be held on Monday 14th April with another on the 22nd April. Details of the programme, venue and contacts can be found on the data website.

As well as developers, Gemma will be asking contractors who have recently carried out projects under COWRIE to submit any data they have collected which has contributed to the project. In doing so, it is hoped that future projects will build on the knowledge and data that have already been collected enabling the COWRIE steering group to make informed decisions about what the priority areas of research should be.

A guidance booklet, Management of Environmental Data and Information from Offshore Renewables, has been published to accompany the new system and is available on request from the COWRIE secretariat at cowrie@offshorewind.co.uk.

New data projects

The Data Working Group (DTWG) identified a range of projects for consideration to be taken forward by the DTWG. Each of the project ideas or proposals have been discussed in terms of their value to future development and a number of them selected to be taken forward as a priority. These include:

• A study to look at and update best practice advice on the use of models to predict the impacts from offshore windfarms on coastal processes;
• Data standards guidance for marine benthic data;
• A study to develop one or more spatial information layers on the distribution and economic value of commercial fishing and shellfishing activities in UK waters.

Education & Communications Working Group

New Graduate and Postgraduate Awards for Environmental Research into Marine Renewable Energy

COWRIE Ltd announced the annual students award competition for the best individual project or thesis work in environmental science related to the marine renewables industry. Nominations were submitted in November 2007 and the winners announced in February 2008. The COWRIE Education and Communications Group were so impressed with the two undergraduate and two postgraduate thesis shortlisted that they decided to present the award to all four applicants.

Postgraduate award

Nicola Everitt (Newcastle University) and Lora Jane Dillon (ERI, North Highland College) each received £750 for their impressive MSc thesis and will be given the opportunity to attend the annual BWEA30 conference in London in October 2008.
"I am very grateful to COWRIE for this award and am honoured to have been recognised for my thesis on 'Mapping Tidal Energy in the Pentland Firth'. To study one of the world's most energetic tidal resources right on its doorstep, at the Environmental Research Institute, was a fantastic opportunity. I have gained employment as a trainee environmental advisor following completion of the MSc. I feel very encouraged by the award and hope to return to the marine energy sector to complete a PhD in the future."

“I am extremely delighted and honoured to have received the COWRIE Student Award for my postgraduate thesis looking into the effects of magnetic field exposure on the behaviour of the shore crab Carcinus maenas. I am currently applying for PhD funding to allow me to continue on from this MRes study and look at any long term behavioural changes in commercially and economically important crustacean species. Receiving such a prestigious award only fuels my ambitions and enthusiasm.”

Graduate award

An award of £750 was given to Ross McAdam and David Ferguson for their remarkable undergraduate dissertations on the design, build and test of a horizontal axis marine turbine and passive pitching control of oscillating hydrofoil devices for marine current power conversion.

“I'm very happy to have won the award because it shows recognition for the work going into renewable energy generation.  I am currently undertaking a PhD to continue the research and development of the turbine design which I worked on in my fourth year project.  This award has encouraged me to pursue a career in the renewable energy field after I finish my academic studies.”

“I am very pleased and honoured to have received the undergraduate award for this year. My research and resulting thesis in marine renewables was very challenging but rewarding and highlighted many technological, environmental and political implications I had been aware of. There is no doubt in my mind that this aspect of energy research and development is critical for the future well -being of our country and the wider world.”

The next call for applications for the 2008 Graduate and Postgraduate Awards will be in October 2008 when information will be available on our website.

COWRIE participation and sponsorship of the International Scientific Meeting on Marine Renewable Energy and the Environment – MAREE 2008

BERR, COWRIE and DEFRA are organising and sponsoring a major international scientific conference on environmental effects of offshore windfarms.  This conference is an outcome of the European Policy Workshop on Offshore Wind Power Deployment (Berlin 2007).  The conference will be held in London’s Royal Institution on the 16th and 17th June 2008, and will be followed by a marine renewable energy research needs and opportunities planning meeting.  For information on the programme, venue and contact details see the conference website www.maree2008.org.

Key Meetings and Conferences in 2008

14 and 22 April – Developer training seminars, Southampton
21-22 May – All Energy 08, Aberdeen
22 May – COWRIE EWG meeting, London
4 June – BWEA Offshore 08, London
16-17 June – International Scientific Meeting on Marine Renewable Energy and the Environment – MAREE 2008, London
19 June – COWRIE Board meeting, London
9 July – BWEA Wales 08
18 September – EWG meeting, London
21-23 October – BWEA30, London


New Publications Available

New guidance document published on the assessment of cumulative impacts on the historic environment from offshore renewable energy (February 2008)

Oxford Archaeology, supported by George Lambrick Archaeology and Heritage Consultancy, was commissioned by COWRIE Ltd to produce guidance on the assessment of cumulative impacts on the historic environment arising from offshore renewable energy projects.

The guidance applies to all areas which are likely to be affected by an offshore energy development, thus covering onshore as well as the coastal and marine environments. The marine environment affected by offshore energy schemes comprises UK territorial waters and the Renewable Energy Zones, which have been identified beyond that limit. The guidance is intended to assist developers of offshore renewable energy installations, environmental consultants from all disciplines, historic environment contractors, industry regulators and other authorities, including historic environment curators at national and local level, and the public.

COWRIE report on the use of trial high definition video survey for seabirds (December 2007)

HiDef Aerial Surveying Limited has developed a helicopter-deployed high definition digital imaging survey technique for monitoring marine bird populations at potential or actual windfarm sites. HiDef approached COWRIE with a proposal to undertake a trial of the technique to assess its performance.

Report published on the further use of aerial surveys to detect bird displacement by offshore windfarms (December 2007)

This report follows a previous report commissioned by COWRIE (Maclean et al. 2006), in which the extent to which BERR aerial survey protocol allows changes in bird numbers to be detected, was examined using power analysis. Changes in bird numbers can be hard to detect due to natural fluctuations in bird numbers. Power analysis allows a statistical assessment to be made of the probability that such changes could be distinguished from background fluctuations.

COWRIE workshop on the cumulative impact of offshore windfarms on birds – 3rd May 2007, Peterborough

COWRIE held a workshop on cumulative impacts and birds on Thursday 3rd May 2007 in Peterborough. The event, involving developers, regulators and stakeholders explored issues such as how to deal with incremental changes and how to assess carrying capacity, and discussed the approaches being applied elsewhere. It was difficult to reach an agreed approach to cumulative impact assessment that could be applied nationally (i.e. in all three strategic windfarm areas and in Scotland), but progress was made on how the process could be improved. The final report has been submitted and is available on the website.

Report published on the potential use of population viability analysis to assess the impact of offshore windfarms on bird populations (November 2007)

COWRIE commissioned the British Trust for Ornithology to produce a report on the potential use of population viability analysis to assess the impact of offshore windfarms on bird populations. This project has produced some very interesting results and discussions will take place as to how to take the recommendations forward at the next ETWG meeting in January 2008.

Radar in-fill for the Greater Wash area feasibility study (October 2007)

Future Round 2 offshore windfarm developments in the Greater Wash area of the United Kingdom have the potential to cause an unacceptable level of interference to primary air surveillance radars operated by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at Trimingham and Staxton Wold. Such a loss of radar capability is anticipated to result in planning objections and a delay to the consents required by developers for the construction of Round 2 developments and potential future offshore sites.
This study was commissioned by COWRIE and BERR to examine the feasibility of deploying a new radar in the Greater Wash area to provide extra observations around and above offshore windfarms. The new radar would "in-fill" regions of air space where surveillance coverage is predicted to be lost due to interference caused by offshore wind turbines.

Report published on the potential for acoustic deterrents to mitigate the impact of underwater noise on marine mammals (October 2007)

COWRIE is pleased to announce the release of the above report prepared by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) Ltd.
This report investigates the potential for using AMDs for mitigation during windfarm construction, explores the types of acoustic signals that might be suitable for this application, and the devices available for producing them in the field. It makes recommendations in relation to the areas of research that would be needed to develop and quantify the performance of a working system, and reviews legal aspects of using AMDs for mitigation in UK waters.

Assessment and costs of potential engineering solutions for the mitigation of the impacts of underwater noise arising from the construction of offshore windfarms (October 2007)

COWRIE is pleased to announce the release of the above report prepared by BioConsult SH.
The report analyses mitigation measures which have been applied in related projects and assesses their applicability to offshore pile driving. Based on this, suggestions for new mitigation measures are made. The report identifies two methods which are promising to be both applicable and effective in reducing underwater noise arising from offshore pile driving. Both methods are considered to be generally compatible to the working processes at sea. Although further engineering work would be needed, they could be brought into practice within a few months.

If you would like more information on any of the items included in this issue or wish to submit an item for future issues, please contact Gemma Couzens at: cowrie@offshorewind.co.uk.