Research needed to understand the effects of tidal energy

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Research needed to understand the effects of tidal energy

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Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:39

There remains a fundamental gap in our understanding of the possible effects of tidal energy extraction on the marine eco system, according to Dr Beth Scott, from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen. Speaking last week Dr Scott said that it is still not known whether the effects of the new technology will be adverse, positive or neutral – and that industry and academia need to work more closely together to address the issue.

"Although government agencies and NGOs have now compiled comprehensive reports on the expected potential environmental impacts of the new technology there still remain fundamental unknowns in the marine environment that both ecologists and engineers need to understand," explained Dr Scott.

She stressed that "considerable" multi-disciplinary research needed to be carried out to understand where to harvest the resource to ensure the most energy efficient return and least environmental disturbance.

"As the first few full scale prototypes go into the water it is not only becoming clear that much is unknown about the real-life physical aspects of tidal stream energy, but that the placement of any marine structural development could affect the ecology of the marine environment in both positive and negative ways", said Dr Scott.

"In particular the placement of tidal devices may have possible direct and indirect ecological effects on the entire food chain, ranging from phytoplankton to large mobile predators such as seabirds, seals and whales. It is essential that marine engineers appreciate the important ecological factors that their devices may influence, even in the early planning stages of development."

She added: "The process of working together aids the flow of knowledge between ecologists and engineers and, crucially, can beneficially influence and ease the implementation of marine renewable energy devices."

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