Page 41 - North American Clean Energy September/October 2019 Issue

timeline, while also protecting wildlife. In the summer of 2017, NYSERDA began
to conduct a 3-year, 4-season planning level wildlife survey of the NY Bight using digital images from aircraft. The images are collected at a flight elevation of 1,360 feet, and then analyzed by taxonomists to identify all imaged wildlife, many to the species level. The project collected more than 3.5 million images, providing broad scale contemporary data about the seasonal, interannual, and spatial distributions of wildlife in the NY Bight, as well as supporting BOEM in the identification of new, responsibly-sited lease areas.
Metocean data will be made publicly available when data collection begins. Wildlife data is publicly available via a remote data server.
In addition to these activities, New York State is now advancing an approach to invest in planning level geophysical and geotechnical surveys of BOEM’s new Wind Energy Areas. These surveys will provide developers the data they need, when they need it,
to maximize its value and help advance the State’s progressive goals efficiently, cost- effectively, and responsibly.
Kate McClellan Press is the Project Manager and Gregory Lampman is Program Manager of the Environmental Research Program at New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, which promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. Collectively, NYSERDA’s efforts aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate economic growth, and reduce customer energy bills. Governed by a 13-member Board, NYSERDA has provided objective information and analysis, technical expertise, and support in New York State since 1975. LiDAR buoy systems developed by EOLOS, supplied by Ocean Tech Services, with data management and validation by DNV GL. This Metocean data will be made publicly available via their data server, Resource Panorama. High Resolution Digital Aerial Survey data collected by Normandeau Associates with APEM Inc. Public access to wildlife data courtesy of Normandeau Associates.
NYSERDA /// www.nyserda.ny.gov
1https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/Offshore-Wind/Offshore-Wind- in-New-York-State-Overview/NYS-Offshore-Wind-Master-Plan 2https://www.boem.gov/NY-Bight/
marine mammals, and fish. Above the water, passive acoustic receivers will detect and record bird vocalizations and bat sonar activity. The buoyed platforms will also host the first long-term deployment of radio antennas this far off the coast, for detecting the passage of tagged birds. With support from BOEM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife has tagged hundreds of red knots, terns, and other threatened and endangered bird species
with radio transmitters. As the birds pass radio receivers, the nanotag signals will be recognized and recorded. Under the water, passive acoustic hydrophones on each buoy will detect marine mammal presence, while passive acoustic receivers will detect tagged fish for SUNY Stony Brook.
Similar to predevelopment benefits from metocean buoys, early stage investment in wildlife surveys is important due to interannual variability of wildlife migrations. Advancing this work early in the development process accelerates the development
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