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Engaging Ocean Experts

 

Ocean Experts

NYSERDA is collaborating with five independent advisory bodies to minimize the environmental and economic impacts of offshore wind.

Two advisory bodies – the Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) and Fisheries Technical Working Group (F-TWG) – have a pivotal role in advising New York State on best practices for protecting wildlife, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. Both the E-TWG and F-TWG are comprised of regional stakeholders with local and technical expertise to advise the State on measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential impacts from offshore wind energy development activities, including:

What is the E-TWG?

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What is the F-TWG?

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Biennial State of the Science Workshops

State of the Science Workshops on Offshore Wind Energy, Wildlife, and Fisheries bring together researchers, regulators, and industry to promote regional coordination and collaboration and serve as a forum to share information on efforts to understand, avoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental impacts from offshore wind energy development.

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  • For more information on past and future State of the Science Workshops, visit nyetwg.com Link opens in new window - close new window to return to this page.

Regional Research Organizations

With offshore wind expanding rapidly along the US East Coast there has been a growing need to collaboratively and effectively conduct and coordinate relevant, credible, and efficient regional monitoring and research of wildlife and marine ecosystems.

To address this growing need, regional research organizations like the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative and the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance have garnered support from multiple states, offshore wind developers, environmental organizations, and fisheries partners to aid in the development of shared research priorities, standardized research methods, and credible data collection and dissemination approaches.

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Ocean Data Portals

While the ocean may look like a big open space, it is a dynamic and busy environment punctuated by diverse natural characteristics and human uses like shipping, fishing, and recreation. Efforts to assess and visualize spatial characteristics in the Atlantic Ocean are intended to facilitate informed decision making by government agencies, industries, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders. Ocean data portals are centralized, peer-reviewed sources for interactive maps of the ocean ecosystem and ocean-related human activities based on available data.

The Northeast Ocean Data Portal and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal are valuable, living tools that can inform ocean planning and management, including offshore wind development. These portals were developed by the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, respectively, through collaboration with state and federal agencies, scientists, ocean industries, non-governmental organizations, and other key stakeholders.

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Environmental Data and Research

New York’s offshore wind development is informed by extensive research studies and data collection to better informed projects to lower risks to wildlife and the marine ecosystem. These efforts promote environmentally responsible measures to ensure New York is leading the way in smarter design and development of offshore wind projects.

Explore the research topics and resources below to learn more.

Metocean Data Collection

A strong knowledge of meteorological and oceanographic – metocean – conditions is essential for the safe and efficient design and operation of offshore wind installations. More efficient design of offshore wind sites will help maximize renewable energy output, delivering more clean energy to the electric grid in a smaller footprint. Earlier knowledge of site conditions are also anticipated to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy.

NYSERDA deployed two floating metocean buoys in the New York Bight in the summer of 2019 for a period of two years to record turbine hub-height wind speed and direction, wave and current measurements, as well as other environmental and wildlife data.

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Geophysical and Geotechnical Studies

A strong knowledge of seabed soil conditions is essential for the safe and efficient design and operation of offshore wind installations. Uncertainty in physical conditions increases development risk and by extension offtake bid prices. Obtaining better characterization of the soil conditions of the offshore wind study area will help increase certainty of development conditions, which is useful in planning activities such as the refinement of project layout and turbine siting, key variables in lease auctions, and offtake. Building from a geophysical and geotechnical desktop study commissioned for NYSERDA (Desktop Study [PDF]) for the New York Bight, NYSERDA is supporting new investigations to collect data in the Bight.

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Aerial Baseline Surveys

One of the most pressing research needs is baseline data for potential wildlife exposure in developing offshore wind energy. Equipped with this data, offshore wind developers can decrease uncertainty of site development, reduce costs, and minimize wildlife impacts.

Using the latest digital and sensor technology, NYSERDA is collecting high resolution digital still imagery of wildlife encountered offshore, including birds, sea turtles, fish and fish shoals, and marine mammals. This study provides critical baseline data about wildlife distribution, abundance, and migratory patterns.

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