Bethany Downe
Development and testing of a sustainability assessment protocol for marine renewable energy technologies
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the highest in history, with fossil fuels making up more than 80 per cent of the primary energy mix. Therefore, reducing the amount of GHG emissions the UK emits is not just necessary to help decrease global emissions, but also to meet legal requirements.
This assessment reviews the sustainability of proposed Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) projects in the UK, in comparison with the sustainability of operational MRE projects in the UK or worldwide; including, tidal range energy, tidal stream energy and offshore wind energy. Key indicators of sustainability were established to cover the most important aspects of each overarching sustainability principle, including; environmental, economic and social sustainability. Sustainability indicators were selected systematically based on the significance/importance to the three dimensions of sustainability and the quantitative and/or qualitative evidence present. Technical perspectives of the different technologies have also been determined, as design and operation of the turbine technologies can influence the sustainability of MRE schemes. Sustainability indicators were assigned scores ranging from level 1-5, with 1 being the least sustainable and 5, the most sustainable. Mean scores were derived from the sustainability assessment protocols which allowed for an overall score of sustainability to be generated for the different MRE technologies.
On the basis of this assessment, the higher the overall sustainability score, the greater the sustainability of the project. The proposed Cardiff-Weston barrage in the Severn Estuary has been identified as the most sustainable scheme (overall sustainability score of 13.4), in comparison with the proposed Meygen tidal stream array in the Pentland Firth (12.5) and the proposed Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm in the Humber Estuary, Yorkshire (11.6). Furthermore, improvements in technology have contributed to an increase in sustainability of the different technologies, with all proposed MRE projects in the UK being more sustainable than current operational projects in the UK or worldwide.