Renewables and Energy
Marine Scotland must ensure that the development of wave, tidal and offshore wind energy sectors is achieved in a sustainable manner in the seas around Scotland, in the context of existing uses, including offshore oil and gas industries.
The environmental aspects of marine renewable energy research are a relatively new field, but of increasing importance to both the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations, so to address the various issues and challenges of developing marine renewables, the Renewables and Energy Programme (REP) was established in 2014 to give scientific support to policy development and licensing of energy production from renewable and non-renewable sources.
The aim of the REP is to provide:
robust systems (risk analysis protocols) for advice on development applications, covering pre-development data requirements, data assessment methods, approaches to Habitats Regulations Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, mitigation and post-development monitoring
tools and data assessment methods, including Economic Impact Assessments, for the identification of "preferred" development areas in the context of marine planning, resource assessment and capacity estimation
sound advice on environmental aspects of proposed developments by the oil and gas industries in Scottish waters