Renewable Energy and Marine Spatial Planning: Scientific and Legal Implications

2013 ◽  
pp. 151-178 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Legal Implications

ASSESSMENT OF MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDER REQUIREMENTS IN NORTH SCOTLAND

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 29-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALASTOR COLEBY
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Tidal Power ◽  
Marine Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Industry

This paper describes two marine renewable energy stakeholder workshops in North Scotland that were held in March 2009 to discuss industry requirements for developing the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters between Scotland's north coast and the northern isles. This is an area of considerable interest for the development of renewable energy in Scotland. If the area is developed (mainly with wave and tidal power) it could make a significant contribution to both meeting government renewable energy targets and to the local economy. However, following accelerated applications by developers for site leasing, development of the area was delayed by uncertainty in environmental data shortages and subsequent slow progress in government formulation of marine spatial planning policy. In order to proceed, the marine renewable energy industry in Scotland required timely investment in regional infrastructure and a clear policy direction from government. Energy industry stakeholders who attended the workshops called for a single authority to take responsibility for both regulation and direct investment from government so that national renewable energy targets could be met in the required timeframe. Ultimately, government and policy makers were expected by industry to take responsibility for this with a central authority to decide and importantly communicate where and when marine turbines could be built. This required by government a proper understanding of the resources and not just the constraints in identifying the most suitable areas. Local knowledge in the community offered to dispel some of the uncertainty regarding the physical environment in a way that could also guide policy and perhaps accelerate marine spatial planning in designating workable areas for wave and tidal power.

Building the Blue Economy: The Role of Marine Spatial Planning in Facilitating Offshore Renewable Energy Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Young
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Blue Economy ◽  
Practical Tool ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
The Right

The oceans hold a stunning potential for meeting our ever-growing demand for energy in a sustainable manner by converting energy stored in the form of heat, waves, currents and tides. At present the offshore renewable energy industry remains in its infancy, but given the right conditions, it could grow into a significant contributor to the global energy mix. A number of inter-related barriers, such as resource and user conflicts, regulatory complexity, and a limited understanding of environmental impacts associated with offshore renewable energy technologies, as well as the general challenges surrounding ocean governance, hamper the development of the industry. Marine spatial planning is emerging around the world as a practical tool for promoting a more rational and wise use of the oceans. It could also play a significant role in promoting the speedy and environmentally sound deployment of offshore renewable energy by assisting in overcoming the various hurdles to the development of that sector of the blue economy.

scholarly journals Ocean data portals: Performing a new infrastructure for ocean governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noëlle Boucquey ◽  
Kevin St. Martin ◽  
Luke Fairbanks ◽  
Lisa M Campbell ◽  
Sarah Wise
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
East Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Critical Cartography ◽  
Third Phase ◽  
Ocean Governance ◽  
The World ◽  
New Infrastructure

We are currently in what might be termed a “third phase” of ocean enclosures around the world. This phase has involved an unprecedented intensity of map-making that supports an emerging regime of ocean governance where resources are geocoded, multiple and disparate marine uses are weighed against each other, spatial tradeoffs are made, and exclusive rights to spaces and resources are established. The discourse and practice of marine spatial planning inform the contours of this emerging regime. This paper examines the infrastructure of marine spatial planning via two ocean data portals recently created to support marine spatial planning on the East Coast of the United States. Applying theories of ontological politics, critical cartography, and a critical conceptualization of “care,” we examine portal performances in order to link their organization and imaging practices with the ideological and ontological work these infrastructures do, particularly in relation to environmental and human community actors. We further examine how ocean ontologies may be made durable through portal use and repetition, but also how such performances can “slip,” thereby creating openings for enacting marine spatial planning differently. Our analysis reveals how portal infrastructures assemble, edit, and visualize data, and how it matters to the success of particular performances of marine spatial planning.

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