Environmental and Social Acceptance

Introduction

The Environmental and Social Acceptance module (ESA) aims to assess the environmental and social impacts generated by the various technology choices and array configurations of wave or tidal devices.

Structure

This module’s documentation is divided into four main sections:

Functionalities

Following the regulatory context of environmental risk assessment and socio-economic opportunities, the Environmental and Social Acceptance (ESA) module was structured into four different parts representing four complementary assessments:

  1. Identification of the potential presence of endangered species in the area of MRE installation (i.e. species included in the IUCN red list);

  2. Environmental impact assessment estimated for the main environmental stressors pre-identified as potential stressors from MRE such as the underwater noise or the collision risk between vessels/devices and the marine wildlife;

  3. Estimation of the carbon footprint and the green-house effect of the project in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) ; and

  4. Information to improve the social acceptance of the project considering socio-economic opportunities.

Workflow for using the tool

The workflow for using the Environmental and Social Acceptance module can be summarised as 1) provide inputs, 2) perform an assessment depending on the complexity level, and 3) view the results, as shown below.

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Overview of data requirements

Section

Complexity 1

Complexity 2

Complexity 3

Units

Farm

inputs

Coordinates

of the farm

Global area description,

Fishing regulation

Global area description,

Fishing regulation

Initial environmental state

€/MW

Devices

inputs

General information,

Dimensions,

Resources,

Fishing restriction,

Foundations information

General information,

Dimensions,

Resources,

Fishing restriction,

foundations information

Measurements of

environmental parameters

Electrical

inputs

General information,

Installation information,

fishing restriction,

Resources

General information,

Fishing restriction,

Resources

Measurements of

environmental parameters

GWh

Logistics

inputs

Characteristics of

the boats,

Fuel consumption

Characteristics of the

boat in each phase,

fuel consumption

Measurements of

environmental parameters

Summary of optional inputs

Section

Sub category

Farm inputs

Protected species

Receptors presence