A growing proportion of the UK's energy infrastructure is located at sea, in the form of oil and gas platforms and offshore wind farms along with the connecting cables and pipelines.
But determining the most sustainable and socially desirable options for decommissioning these Marine Artificial Structures (MAS), once they reach the end of their operational lives, is a key challenge facing industry, policy makers, regulators and civil society.
A new project aims to address this by exploring some of the diverse public and stakeholder attitudes and perceptions towards the ecological, economic and social evidence for different decommissioning options.
The READ-ME project is being delivered by researchers from the University of Plymouth, the University of Aberdeen, Daryl Burdon Ltd, the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC), and the ECAP Consultancy Group (UK) Ltd. and funded by the Influence of man-made structures in the ecosystem (INSITE) programme - Phase Three.
The delivery team will be supported by a project steering group whose members represent organisations including Historic England, Scottish Government Marine Directorate, Celtic Sea Power, Cardiff University, National Oceanography Centre, The Crown Estate, University of St Andrews and the Blue Marine Foundation.
The project will focus on the MAS of the North Sea and aims to enhance social science survey techniques with immersive 3D models and interactive geo-visualisations.
These advanced visual tools, developed by researchers based at the NDC, will allow stakeholders to visualise complex MAS decommissioning scenarios and support their understanding of the intricate environmental, economic and social trade-offs involved.
The overall ambition is to deliver comprehensive, transparent and impactful research that advances awareness of the environmental, economic and socio-economic issues associated with MAS decommissioning. The READ-ME project will deliver an evidence-based and stakeholder-informed foundation for future policy development and marine governance.
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