What drives attitudes towards marine renewable energy development in island communities in the UK?

In the UK a new theme has emerged in policy discourse and the investment of public resources around the concept of community renewable energy. A series of central government funded programs have been established with the aim of supporting and subsidizing community-based projects at a local level, an approach to renewable energy development previously the domain of alternative technology activists working outside of the mainstream. Drawing upon policy analysis and interviews undertaken with key actors, we argue that this new theme of government policy has emerged through a coalescence of largely instrumental policy drivers and does not represent a broader paradigmatic shift in the underlying norms and goals of policy. We consider the different ways the community label has been used and argue that while it has provided a ºexible space that activities, interests and objectives of various forms can occupy, its functional malleability also means that the communitarian expectations of participatory involvement are not being widely pursued or realized. Implications are considered for how, in the context of the governance of climate change, the outcomes of public investment in community renewable energy should be evaluated.

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THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS FOR EMERGING MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTORS: THE NOVA SCOTIAN EXAMPLE

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management ◽

10.1142/s146433321340005x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 15 (02) ◽

pp. 1340005 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

MELISSA E. OLDREIVE

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Nova Scotia ◽

Social Issues ◽

Energy Development ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Bay Of Fundy ◽

Environmental Assessments ◽

Marine Renewable Energy ◽

Renewable Energy Development ◽

Nova Scotian

Climate change, rising energy prices, and declining supplies of fossil fuels have changed how governments balance energy needs with environmental protection. Strategic Environmental Assessments in the Province of Nova Scotia are based on core principles that seek to lay the foundation for integrated decision-making in ways that contribute to broader governmental policy commitments. This process places a particular emphasis on early stakeholder consultation and engagement, regulatory streamlining, and future-oriented approaches to sustainability issues. In 2007, the Province of Nova Scotia commissioned the Offshore Energy Environmental Research Association (OEER) to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) concentrated in the Bay of Fundy on Nova Scotia's west coast — an area known for its immense tidal energy potential. This assessment focused on offshore renewable energy development in the area and culminated in a report outlining strategic recommendations for action. Overall, this process provided the Nova Scotia Government with a path forward in developing and deploying its marine renewable energy industry. This case study outlines the steps of the Nova Scotian SEA process including the scope, timeline, purpose, responsibility, and main steps taken to assess the environmental, economic, and social issues associated with marine renewable energy development in Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy.

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