PNNL

Abstract

Energy generated by the world’s oceans and rivers offers the potential to make substantial contributions to the domestic and global renewable energy supply. However, the marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy industry faces challenges related to siting, permitting, construction, and operation of pilotand commercial-scale facilities. One of the challenges is to understand the potential effects to marine organisms from electromagnetic fields, which are produced as a by-product of transmitting power from offshore to onshore locations through underwater transmission cables. This report documents the progress of the third year of research (fiscal year 2012) to investigate environmental issues associated with marine and hydrokinetic energy (MHK) generation. This work was conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Wind and Water Technologies Office. The report addresses the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on selected marine species where significant knowledge gaps exist. The species studied this fiscal year included one fish and two crustacean species: the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister), and American lobster (Homarus americanus).