Analysing the potentials and effects of multi-use between tidal energy development and environmental protection and monitoring: A case study of the inner sound of the Pentland Firth

As the population of cities continues to proliferate, society places a greater strain on the productivity of geographical features and their resources. In recent years, this trend has increased for the planet's seas. In order to further maximize the utility of marine space, the concept of co-location between economic sectors operating in the sea, and coexistence of such sectors with the ecosystem, has provided traction for the concept of multi-use (MU). In response, the European Union Horizon 2020 programme funded the Multi-Use in European Seas (MUSES) project which aims to provide innovative technical and policy solutions to facilitate MU in the five European sea basins. Within the broader analytical framework of MUSES, 10 case studies were developed to determine the potentials and effects of MU for various sectors. This paper examines MU between tidal energy development and environmental protection, as well as tidal energy development and environmental monitoring. A desk analysis provided for known drivers, added values, barriers, and impacts of MU. Results from the desk analysis were validated by key stakeholders, resulting in policy and technical recommendations informing the MUSES Action Plan. The analysis demonstrates that technological advancements to monitoring equipment are required to further studies of environmental interactions with tidal energy arrays, and determine the viability of co-locating developments in environmentally sensitive areas. However, greater capacity deployments of tidal energy are required so that robust monitoring data sets can accumulate over time, geographical scope, and ecological make-up. Such capacity development is currently hindered by ineffective government fiscal measures.