MeyGen tidal scheme growth ‘no threat to seals’ report says
The potential threat to harbour seals from tidal energy developments in the Pentland Firth and around Orkney has been deemed to be hypothetical rather than realistic.
The MeyGen tidal energy scheme in the firth reached full power for the first time late last year and is now delivering 6MW of renewable power.
It is among a number of test operations, alongside those run by Nova Innovation and Orbital Marine Power at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, which are pioneering technologies to harness tidal energy off the north coast of Scotland, where some of the strongest tides in the world operate.
But environmental considerations as well as regulatory framework are seen as key to developing the technology to a commercial scale.
Now a new report aims to help open the route to resolve what the industry calls “consenting challenges” by collaborative work to address some of those concerns, including perceived threats to wildlife.
The report, Managing the Consenting Risk of Harbour Seal Collision in the Scottish Tidal Energy Industry, published this week, sets out key recommendations to underpin robust consenting to enable the growth of tidal stream energy in Scotland while addressing environmental concerns, particularly the potential impact on harbour seals.
Fraser Johnson, operations and maintenance manager at MeyGen, said: “We’re proud to have played a leading role in improving how we assess and manage environmental risks for tidal energy. This report demonstrates the significant progress the sector has made; however, to unlock its full potential, we must continue to work collaboratively, share our learnings, and maintain this momentum.
“At MeyGen, we’re committed to environmental stewardship but the consenting system must evolve to reflect both the latest evidence and ensure the scale of this vital technology is realised.
“Tidal stream energy has proven that it can be key in providing predictable, scalable renewable power, creating a thriving sector in the process.”
Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE), the parent company to MeyGen, successfully deployed its fourth 1.5MW turbine in December, bringing the site up to full power. It aims to develop the tidal energy site up to its total consented capacity of 398MW in phases.
Earlier this year, a report claimed that wave and tidal power schemes including the MeyGen project could collectively be worth £8 billion to Scotland’s economy over the next 25 years.
The tidal stream energy sector has formed a regional developer group and says it is committed to working together with regulators and research institutions to strengthen the evidence base on the seal collision risk with tidal turbines and increase the reliability and accuracy of impact assessments.
Funded by Crown Estate Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Tidal Industry Seal Project (TISP) report was developed with input from eight leading organisations in tidal energy and environmental assessment.
It shows that extensive monitoring to date has found no evidence of seal-turbine collisions, but that there is an ongoing decline in the population in the region.
Dr Ewan Edwards, environmental specialist at Xodus said: “Harbour seal populations around Orkney and the north coast of Scotland have been in sharp decline for around 20 years. This is generally attributed to factors such as competition for food with other species, predation by killer whales or grey seals, and potentially biotoxins from algal blooms.
“Extensive monitoring of operational tidal projects in Scotland has found no evidence of seal-turbine collisions. On the contrary, data suggest that seals actively avoid operating turbines, especially during peak flows.
“The project team strongly believe that the weight of evidence suggests that collisions between harbour seals, or any other marine mammal, and tidal turbines are thankfully incredibly rare, and the risk of collision is a hypothetical one, rather than a realistic threat.”
TISP sets out a series of recommendations calling for coordinated action across government, industry, regulators and key delivery bodies to strengthen policy, planning, evidence and monitoring frameworks.
Donald Leaver, environment and consents manager at EMEC, said: “We recognise that for the tidal energy to grow, a collaborative effort is required to better understand whether the potential for seals to collide with turbines is an issue. Pioneering projects led by MeyGen, Nova Innovation and Orbital Marine Power have investigated this over several years and, so far, haven’t seen any evidence of seal-turbine collisions.
“With various new projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters due to be built out over the coming decade, supporting Scottish and UK government policy ambitions for energy security and climate resilience, it is vital this consenting uncertainty is resolved in a collaborative, science-led manner to enable sustainable development alongside the protection of our marine ecosystems.”
The report was developed by a consortium including Xodus Group Ltd, Carronside Consultancy Ltd, SAE Renewables Ltd, European Marine Energy Centre Ltd, Eurona Consultancy Ltd, Burges Salmon LLP, Orbital Marine Power Ltd, and Nova Innovation Ltd.