Is marine renewable energy good for wildlife?

Mike Childs

21 November 2012

Surely it is too good to be true that that building thousands of wind turbines at sea could actually benefit wildlife and fisheries? All that concrete, steel and electrical wires would surely cause havoc?

Not so, says leading marine biologist Professor Martin Attrill of the Marine Institute at Plymouth University. Done well, he says, it should be possible to avoid significant negative impacts and instead may even create new opportunities for wildlife to flourish. Also the alternative, he says, is much worse as it means greater levels of climate change, ocean warming and acidification.

Martin and I agreed that this positive message needs to be heard loud and clear. So Martin - together with academic colleagues at Plymouth and Exeter - has agreed to write a series of briefings for Friends of the Earth on marine renewable energy and marine biodiversity.

As the Business Green website report, the first of these briefings is an overview of current research, providing an overall picture of the impact of marine renewables on wildlife and fisheries that has been missing until now.

It will be followed by other more detailed briefings looking at the impact of marine renewables on fish and benthos; marine mammals; physical impacts (oceanography); fisheries; and birds.

As Martin makes clear, this does not mean that marine renewables can be put anywhere. Care is still needed in site selection, together with careful design and on-going monitoring.

But it does mean that the UK can rapidly begin to exploit its' vast potential to generate renewable energy from the seas surrounding us, as recommended by the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change. And it means we can rapidly begin to create jobs and economic benefits associated with this new industry - at which Britain could be a world leader.

It isn't every day we get good news, so do share this with colleagues, friends and family.

And help make it a reality by supporting our Clean British Energy Campaign which seeks a shift from dirty and increasingly expensive fossil fuels to home-grown renewable energy from our wind, sun and of course, sea.