![]() ![]() The wave energy industry has not settled on a favored design, but most prototypes involve fewer moving parts than tidal turbines. Ultimately, they found that the threat of most planned wave and tidal energy setups is quite low-especially when compared to other coastal energy projects, such as offshore oil drilling.Īn animal hit by turbine blades might be bruised, Copping says, but the damage is unlikely to be fatal. They also modeled the odds that a harbor seal would interact with such devices in a way that it would get hurt. In one experiment, Copping and her team used blubber and skin from dead killer whales and harbor seals to simulate the effects of the animals being hit by turbine blades. The team presented their preliminary findings at a scientific conference in Portland, Oregon, earlier this month. Crucially, they also sought to put these dangers in context, comparing them against the better-known dangers posed by offshore wind farms, oil platforms, and ships. Through laboratory experiments and modeling scenarios, Copping and her team analyzed which of the proposed threats might pose a danger to ocean ecosystems. She finds that tidal turbine blades present the most immediate danger to wildlife, but impacts would be rare, and in most cases non-lethal. That’s why Andrea Copping, an offshore energy expert at the US Department of Energy-funded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, set out to assess the risks posed by common forms of ocean energy infrastructure. As with any new technology, it’s difficult to accurately gauge the actual threat posed by any of these imagined scenarios. Seawater and sediment could be churned up, disrupting migrating and feeding animals. Sharks and rays-sensitive to electromagnetic fields-might be thrown astray by subsea power cables. Perhaps they will be disturbed by the sounds of underwater generators. Maybe seals, seabirds, and fish will be sliced and diced by underwater turbines. Skeptics and scientists have raised a range of hypothetical ways in which wave and tidal power infrastructure could hurt animals. But just like the energy sources they seek to replace, such as carbon-spewing oil and coal, these new sources of green energy will inevitably cause some environmental damage. Share this articleĪs the world seeks to cut its reliance on fossil fuels, scientists have been working to harness the forces of nature-from the sun and the wind to the waves and the tides- to produce reliable sources of renewable power.
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