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Environmental Considerations for Offshore Wind Farms in the Caribbean: A Puerto Rican Case Study
Achievement/Results
During a field trip to Puerto Rico in March 2013, IGERT students were immersed in the environmental, engineering, and policy aspects of offshore wind energy development for small island developing states in the Caribbean Basin. Given that the IGERT students had previously studied these elements for offshore wind developments in New England and Europe, exposing them to a novel setting with unique challenges provided a value-added learning experience. While on site, students were immersed in a very different environment, and were able to have active dialogues with developers, stakeholders, government and non-government agencies that potentially had very different perspectives than their north-temperate counterparts. The trip also allowed students from each discipline to work collaboratively, learn different assessment and monitoring techniques, and develop a greater collective awareness of the intricacies related to offshore wind development. IGERT faculty Dr. Griffin and Dr. Danylchuk used the field trip to Puerto Rico as an educational opportunity for current IGERT students and as a chance to develop a research framework related to a proposed offshore wind development.
From an educational perspective, IGERT students from the three main disciplines of environment, engineering, and policy gained invaluable experience related to the integrative nature of offshore wind development. Following the trip, many students remarked on how they gained a much greater appreciation for the complex nature of offshore wind development. From a research perspective, Dr. Griffin and Dr. Danylchuk made numerous connections with developers and government agencies that can potentially create more in-depth gradate training opportunities for IGERT students.
Address Goals
From an educational perspective, IGERT students from the three main disciplines of environment, engineering, and policy gained invaluable experience related to the integrative nature of offshore wind development in a novel setting – the Caribbean. Students were imersed in real-world issues related to offshore wind development, including complex ecosystems, a very different cultural setting, and multiple engineering challenges. Students and faculty also met with many stakeholders and government agencies. From these meetings, it is apparent that opportunities may unfold for specific research projects related to offshore wind development in Puerto Rico. These connections help support the secondary NSF strategic goal of Discovery.
