US DOE seeks input on offshore wind environmental research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a Request for Information (RFI) process regarding environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development and related monitoring and mitigation technology.

The purpose of the RFI, issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), is to solicit input from industry, academia, government agencies and the public on research needs regarding environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development in U.S. waters and related monitoring and potential mitigation technology.

EERE seeks input on research to fill high-priority knowledge gaps that are central to evaluating the environmental impacts of offshore wind and enabling the siting and permitting of projects across a range of temporal and geographic scales.

Additionally, responses are wanted on the improvement and validation of monitoring and mitigation technologies and methods, and assessments of their costs and effectiveness, as well as validation of predictive impact models to improve environmental assessments, point to cost-effective solutions, and minimize monitoring costs for future projects.

The RFI also concerns bird and bat collision and avoidance research, construction noise monitoring and mitigation, and habitat changes and habitat use changes.

EERE emphasized that this is only a request for information and not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), and applications are not being accepted.

Interested parties are free to submit responses no later than 7 July by 5:00 p.m. ET.