Offshore Wind Power Projects in the Great Lakes - Ministry of ...

Offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes: Background and science considerations for fish and fish habitat
aquatic ecosystem is an important consideration towards developing a sustainable approach to
offshore wind energy production in the Great Lakes. Having identified the effects to fish and fish
habitat that are likely to arise from offshore wind developments in the Great Lakes in our initial
report, the next step is to determine how best to assess the significance of these effects, and to
explore the options available for preventing adverse effects and enhancing potential benefits
within a Great Lakes context.
In this second report, we examine the lessons learned from the experiences of marine offshore
wind and other development projects in order to provide background information and science
considerations to support the future development of best management practices related to
offshore wind power in the Great Lakes. To this end, the importance of comprehensive baseline
and effects monitoring studies are discussed, as are the scientific tools and techniques necessary
to detect and quantify the impacts of offshore wind facilities to fish and fish habitat. We identify
the types of data that will be particularly important to collect in such studies, focussing on those
effects likely to pose the greatest environmental risk, or those associated with the greatest degree
of uncertainty. In addition, we evaluate the strategies that have been used in other development
projects for avoiding or mitigating the potential negative impacts of offshore wind power-related
activities or installations to fish and fish habitat, and suggest several Great Lakes-specific options
for enhancing the potential benefits of wind turbine structures as well. Finally, we discuss how
the adoption of an adaptive management approach and the application of the precautionary
approach are options available to promote the sustainable development of offshore wind facilities
in the Great Lakes; we do this in part by highlighting the approach to offshore wind development
taken by several other countries. We conclude by identifying key knowledge gaps and future
research recommendations in order to enhance our ability to understand, predict and prevent
potential adverse ecological impacts of offshore wind power projects within the Great Lakes.
2. Preventing, minimizing and mitigating negative impacts
As with any large-scale offshore development project, the construction and operation of offshore
wind power facilities has the potential to affect the aquatic environment. Through increasing
experience with offshore construction activities—whether they be for offshore wind power
projects in the marine environment, for the oil and gas industry, or for coastal engineering works
Aquatic Research and Development Section 8