The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has selected five projects to further study environmental and commercial fishing in support of offshore wind development.
More than USD 2 million has been dedicated for the five multi-year projects, which are expected to advance the state’s goal of having 9GW of offshore wind installed by 2035.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) with other partners will carry out a project focused on developing solutions for safe and efficient access to fishing grounds while ensuring offshore energy projects meet their operational goals.
RODA is also conducting a project dedicated to creating a data trust for the inclusion of fishermen’s knowledge in offshore wind energy decision making.
The Biodiversity Research Institute has been selected to investigate the relationship between forage fish and seabirds and implications of offshore wind development on seabird behaviors and distribution.
Ecology and Environment will develop spatially and temporally dynamic information on the distribution of oceanographic characteristic in the New York Bight through the development and application of a dedicated multi-year 3-D flow model to wildlife distribution movements.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will develop standardized guidelines to inform the use of miniature digitally-coded VHF (very high frequency) transmitters to monitor birds and bats in relation to offshore wind.
“As New York becomes the national epicenter for the U.S. offshore wind industry, we continue to undertake evidence-based environmental and commercial fishing related research to help us advance offshore wind development in way that is sensitive to the environment, ocean and the economy,” said Alicia Barton , NYSERDA President and CEO.
“These projects expand our efforts to mitigate potential impacts of offshore wind energy development and will help protect the State’s coastal resources and marine environment ensuring these resources can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
According to NYSERDA, advancing understanding of wildlife and fisheries interactions with offshore wind will support sound planning, address stakeholder concerns and accelerate offshore wind development by identifying and reducing risks early in the process.