Achievement

As part of the UMass Offshore Wind Energy IGERT, one of our trainees' goals for this reporting period was to continue to bridge the gaps among the three discipline thrusts: public policy, engineering, and the environment. A preliminary draft of a manuscript was completed that outlined how marine spatial planning could provide an ideal tool for siting offshore wind energy developments due to its ability to include societal, economic, technological and ecological considerations in site assessments. As an IGERT cohort, they have built on this experience and applied much of what was learned during this semester’s Environmental Assessment of Offshore Wind Development course. The group is currently working on a document that would synthesize policy, engineering and ecological considerations when selecting an offshore development site, proposing the site, and eventually monitoring the site during construction, operation and decommission.