Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 650 - Coastal Resources Management Council › Chapter 20 - Coastal Management Program › Subchapter 05 - Ocean Special Area Management Plan › Part 8 - RICRMP: Ocean SAMP - Chapter 8 - Renewable Energy and Other Offshore Development (650-RICR-20-05-8) › Section 650-RICR-20-05-8.4 - Potential Effects on Existing Uses and Resources in the Ocean SAMP Area (formerly Section 850)

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Offshore
				  renewable energy may potentially affect the natural resources and existing
				  human uses of the Ocean SAMP area. Some effects may be negative, resulting in
				  adverse impacts on these resources and uses. Alternatively, other effects may
				  be neutral, producing no discernible impacts, while others may be positive,
				  resulting in enhancements to the environment or to offshore human uses. The
				  degree to which offshore renewable energy structures may affect the natural
				  environment or human activities in the area varies in large part on the
				  specific siting of a project. Careful consideration when planning the location
				  of an offshore renewable energy facility, as well as the use of appropriate
				  mitigation strategies during the construction, operation and decommissioning
				  stages can minimize any potential negative impacts (MMS 2007a).
B. To date, most research on the potential
				  effects of offshore renewable energy installations has been conducted in
				  Europe, though some research has been conducted during the review of the
				  proposed offshore wind farm project in Nantucket Sound by Cape Wind, LLC (MMS
				  2009a; U.S. Coast Guard 2009; Technology Service Corporation 2008). In
				  anticipation of future offshore renewable energy development within the U.S.,
				  BOEM has identified potential impacts and enhancements of such development on
				  marine transportation, navigation and infrastructure in the "Programmatic
				  Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative Energy Development and
				  Production" (PEIS) (MMS 2007a). These sources, as well as other scientific
				  literature and relevant reports have informed this synthesis of the potential
				  effects on existing resources and uses in the Ocean SAMP area. Where possible,
				  research conducted as a part of the Ocean SAMP process has been incorporated to
				  help further assess the potential for effects within the Ocean SAMP study
				  area.
C. As presented in
				  §810.3, offshore wind energy currently represents the greatest potential
				  for utility-scale offshore renewable energy in the Ocean SAMP area. For that
				  reason, the focus of this section is mainly on the potential effects from the
				  development of offshore wind energy facilities. However, many of the potential
				  effects discussed may be similar across all forms of offshore renewable energy
				  development and offshore marine construction in general.
D. While this section is meant to provide a
				  summary of all potential effects of offshore renewable energy development, the
				  potential effects of a particular project will be thoroughly examined as part
				  of the review conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
				  review process includes: an analysis of alternatives, an assessment of all
				  environmental, social, and existing use impacts (i.e. ecological, navigational,
				  economic, community-related, etc.), a review for regulatory consistency with
				  other applicable federal laws and the implementation of mitigation measures.
				  See §820.4 and Chapter 10, Existing Statutes, Regulations, and Policies
				  for more information on the NEPA review process, as well as other state and
				  federal reviews and regulations relevant to offshore wind energy
				  development.
E. This section begins
				  with an examination of the potential effects of offshore renewable energy
				  development on the physical environment through a discussion of the potential
				  for avoided air emissions and the potential effects on coastal processes. Next,
				  the potential effects of offshore renewable energy development on the
				  ecological resources, including the benthic ecology, avian species, sea
				  turtles, marine mammals and fish. Potential effects to human uses are then
				  examined through a discussion of cultural and historic resources, commercial
				  and recreational fishing activities, recreation and tourism and lastly marine
				  transportation, navigation and infrastructure. The final section considers the
				  potential cumulative effects of offshore renewable energy
				  development.
8.4.1
Avoided Air
				  Emissions (formerly §850.1)
A. The
				  development of an offshore wind farm or any other offshore renewable energy
				  project would have implications for air emissions within the state. While the
				  development of a project will produce some air emissions (especially during the
				  construction stage), a renewable energy project, by not burning fossil fuels,
				  will produce far fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and conventional air
				  pollutants. This section summarizes the effects of air emissions produced and
				  avoided by the development of an offshore renewable energy project.
B. Air emissions produced during conventional
				  fossil fuel energy production include carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
				  oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide.
				  These pollutants have been demonstrated to have detrimental impacts to human
				  health and the environment. Exposure to poor air quality is a major health risk
				  and health cost in the United States. Smog and particle pollution are the cause
				  of decreased lung function, respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease,
				  increased risk of asthma, and the risk of premature death (U.S. Department of
				  Energy 2008). The largest sources of sulfur dioxide emissions are from fossil
				  fuel combustion at power plants; sulfur dioxide has been linked to respiratory
				  illnesses and is a major contributor to acid rain (U.S. EPA Office of Air and
				  Radiation 2009). Nitrogen oxides combine with volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
				  to form ozone, a major component of smog. Ozone can cause a number of
				  respiratory problems in humans, and can also have detrimental effects on plants
				  and ecosystems, including acid rain. Additionally, nitrogen dioxide has also
				  been shown to cause adverse respiratory effects (U.S. EPA Office of Air and
				  Radiation 2009). The effects of carbon dioxide emissions, the major contributor
				  to global climate change, are discussed in further detail in Chapter 3, Global
				  Climate Change.
C. The process of
				  siting, constructing, and decommissioning an offshore renewable energy project
				  of any kind would entail some adverse impacts to air quality through the
				  emission of carbon dioxide and conventional pollutants. Construction activity
				  in the offshore environment would require the use of fossil fuel-powered
				  equipment that will result in a certain level of air emissions from activities
				  including pile installation, scour protection installation, cable laying,
				  support structure and turbine installation, and other activities required for
				  the development of a wind farm. During the pre-construction and installation
				  stages, there would be some air emissions in the Ocean SAMP area from fossil
				  fuel fired mobile sources such as ships, cranes, pile drivers and other
				  equipment. Decommissioning would also result in some air emissions from the
				  activities involved in the removal of the wind turbines, although emissions
				  from decommissioning would be lower than those involved in construction (MMS
				  2009a). The size of an offshore renewable energy facility's carbon footprint
				  will vary depending on the project, as the carbon footprint of a facility
				  depends on project specific factors (e.g. size, location, technology,
				  installation techniques, etc.) Any calculation of carbon footprint would
				  include the pre-construction, construction, operation, and decommissioning
				  phases of a project.
D. When
				  considering the benefits of wind power displacing electricity generated from
				  fossil fuels, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of manufacturing wind turbines
				  and building wind plants need to be taken into account as well. White and
				  Kulsinski (1998) found that when these emissions are analyzed on a life-cycle
				  basis, wind energy's CO2 emissions are extremely low-about 1% of those from
				  coal and 2% of those from natural gas, per unit of electricity generated. The
				  American Wind Energy Association has calculated that a single 1 MW wind turbine
				  (operating at full capacity for one year) has the potential to displace up to
				  1,800 tons (1633 MT) of CO2 per year compared with the current U.S. average
				  utility fuel mix (made up of oil, gas, and coal) burned to produce the same
				  amount of energy (AWEA 2009). The generation of renewable wind energy will
				  result in avoided future emissions of CO2 and will allow Rhode Island to meet
				  targets set by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) (See
				  §810.1).
E. Developing
				  offshore renewable energy sources in the form of wind turbines would have a
				  positive impact on air emissions by displacing future air emissions caused by
				  generating electricity. The level of avoided air emissions, and the net impact
				  from renewable energy, will be dependent upon the future demands for
				  electricity in Rhode Island, and the proportion of this which can be met by
				  offshore wind farms and other renewable energy sources. At the very least, an
				  offshore wind farm would have the effect of reducing the need for adding
				  capacity for fossil-fuel generating plants in Rhode Island and throughout New
				  England. At present, roughly 99% of the energy generated within Rhode Island
				  comes from combined cycle natural gas, which is considered a marginal
				  generator, in that it provides variable output which can easily be adjusted to
				  meet demand (ISO New England Inc. 2009c). NOx is the principal pollutant of
				  concern for gas fired energy generation (MMS 2009a). Much of the electricity
				  used within Rhode Island comes from the Brayton Point Power Station in
				  Somerset, MA, the largest fossil-fueled generating facility in New England. The
				  Brayton Point Power Station has three units that use coal and one that uses
				  either natural gas or oil, for a combined output of over 1500 MW (Dominion
				  2010). The additional energy production from wind turbines would be more likely
				  to result in avoided air emissions from natural gas plants, which are marginal
				  and would produce less energy in the event demand was lowered because of the
				  additional output of wind turbines. Wind energy is also a marginal source,
				  because wind speeds and thus energy output varies. The Brayton Point Power
				  Station, which because of its reliance on coal is mostly a baseload generator,
				  or one that does not change short term output depending on demand (because of
				  the difficulties in doing so), would likely continue to produce energy at the
				  same rate. Thus air emissions from this plant would not be avoided, at least in
				  the short term.
F. A second
				  important benefit of switching to a zero-emission energy generation technology
				  like wind power is impact on air quality through reduced levels of nitrogen
				  oxides, sulfur dioxide, and mercury emitted in electrical energy generation
				  using fossil fuels. The Cape Wind FEIS determined that a wind farm would result
				  in the net reduction in emissions of NOx, a precursor of ozone, although only a
				  slight reduction because of the levels of NOx still being produced by power
				  sources elsewhere (MMS 2009a). The emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
				  oxides have declined significantly since the early 1990s (ISO New England Inc.
				  2009c). However, there still may be a benefit in terms of avoided future
				  increases in emissions of NOx and other pollutants if a project can meet
				  increasing future energy demands. A reduction in these pollutants will have
				  positive health effects for residents of the state of Rhode Island from the
				  perspective of avoiding future respiratory illnesses.