PNNL

The marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) environmental Impacts Knowledge Management System, dubbed “Tethys” after the mythical Greek titaness of the seas, is being developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to support the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind and Water Power Program (WWPP). Functioning as a smart database, Tethys enables its users to identify key words or terms to help gather, organize and make available information and data pertaining to the environmental effects of MHK and offshore wind (OSW) energy development. By providing and categorizing relevant publications within a simple and searchable database, Tethys acts as a dissemination channel for information and data which can be utilized by regulators, project developers and researchers to minimize the environmental risks associated with offshore renewable energy developments and attempt to streamline the permitting process. Tethys also houses a separate content-related Annex IV data base with identical functionality to the Tethys knowledge base. Annex IV is a collaborative project among member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Ocean Energy Systems – Implementing Agreement (OES-IA) that examines the environmental effects of ocean energy devices and projects. The U.S. Department of Energy leads the Annex IV working with federal partners such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While the Annex IV database contains technical reports and journal articles, it is primarily focused on the collection of project site and research study metadata forms (completed by MHK researchers and developers around the world, and collected by PNNL) which provide information on environmental studies and the current progress of the various international MHK developments in the Annex IV member nations. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the content, accessibility and functionality enhancements made to the Annex IV and Tethys knowledge bases in FY12.