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
only the knowledge acquired through generic research programmes initiated by government or
other participatory institutions, but also the information and data resulting from project-specific
monitoring studies conducted by individual developers. One option for doing this would be to
develop an accessible database or information exchange network to facilitate the collection and
dissemination of information related to offshore wind developments and their associated effects
on Great Lakes fish and fish habitat. Of course, such a database should be continually updated as
new information and data becomes available through ongoing site monitoring and research
programmes. To be effective, however, this type of initiative will require collaboration and
commitments on the part of many different interest groups including both developers and
governments that span provinces, states and nations. Furthermore, in order to ensure consistency
in data collection and reporting and improve the comparability and predictive value of results, it
will also be important to develop and specify standards and minimum requirements for both
monitoring and reporting.
Based on the existing European model for offshore wind, it seems that the most effective way for
progress to be made as far as understanding, predicting and preventing potential adverse
ecological impacts of offshore wind power projects within the Great Lakes is to promote the
sharing of knowledge and experiences as they are acquired by participating developers and
research groups. The more Great Lakes-specific information that becomes available, the better
strategies can be developed to manage and implement offshore wind power projects within these
important freshwater ecosystems. As the knowledge base expands, an adaptive management
approach can be facilitated whereby the best-available procedures for monitoring, technologies
to enhance benefits, and measures to avoid or mitigate negative impacts can be promoted and put
into place for future projects. Although individual developers might be wary of sharing certain
proprietary information, targeted data sharing and the exchange of knowledge ultimately benefits
all stakeholders. For this reason, the dissemination of information and open access reporting
should either be a requirement for all offshore wind proponents, or at least strongly encouraged
and rewarded through government-funded financial or other incentives.
Aquatic Research and Development Section 86