Prospects for the Use of Macro-Algae for Fuel in Ireland and the UK: An Overview of Marine Management Issues

Competing demand for land is driving biofuel and bioenergy research in various directions including macro-algae (seaweed). This paper reviews the main issues for the marine environment of cultivating and harvesting UK and Irish seaweed for biofuels/bioenergy, informed by stakeholder interviews. These showed stakeholders were sceptical of an offshore cultivation industry developing but generally considered inshore cultivation possible, while noting various practical obstacles and conditions. Views on expansion of seaweed harvesting were more divided, with research scientists being relatively cautious.

[1]  G. Ray.  Coastal-marine discontinuities and synergisms: implications for biodiversity conservation , 1996, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[2]  Tim Gray,et al.  Wind farm siting—the case of offshore wind farms , 2005 .

[3]  Jacob Ladenburg,et al.  Attitudes towards on-land and offshore wind power development in Denmark; choice of development strategy , 2008 .

[4]  E. Wakker,et al.  Greasy palms: the social and ecological impacts of large-scale oil palm plantation development in Southeast Asia. , 2004 .

[5]  Claire Haggett.  Over the Sea and Far Away? A Consideration of the Planning, Politics and Public Perception of Offshore Wind Farms , 2008 .

[6]  Paul Upham,et al.  Argentinean soy-based biodiesel: An introduction to production and impacts , 2009 .

[7]  Peter J S Jones,et al.  Marine protected area strategies: issues, divergences and the search for middle ground , 2004, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[8]  Patrick Devine-Wright,et al.  Reconsidering Public Acceptance of Renewable Energy Technologies: a Critical Review , 2007 .

[9]  A. Bondeau,et al.  Indirect land-use changes can overcome carbon savings from biofuels in Brazil , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[10]  P. Kamermans,et al.  BIO-OFFSHORE: Grootschalige teelt van zeewieren in combinatie met offshore windparken in de Noordzee , 2005 .

[11]  Tim Gray,et al.  Offshore wind farms and commercial fisheries in the UK: A study in Stakeholder Consultation , 2005 .

[12]  Elliott A. Norse.  Global marine biological diversity: a strategy for building conservation into decision making , 1994 .

[13]  S. Kraan,et al.  Review of the Potential Mechanisation of Kelp Harvesting in Ireland , 2004 .

[14]  Klaus Lüning,et al.  Mass cultivation of seaweeds: current aspects and approaches , 2003, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[15]  Tinker,et al.  Killer whale predation on sea otters linking oceanic and nearshore ecosystems , 1998, Science.

[16]  Paul Upham,et al.  Substitutable biodiesel feedstocks for the UK: a review of sustainability issues with reference to the UK RTFO , 2009 .

[17]  B. H. Buck,et al.  The offshore-ring: A new system design for the open ocean aquaculture of macroalgae , 2004, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[18]  W. Sutherland,et al.  Managing Habitats for Conservation. , 1995 .

[19]  R. Kenchington.  Managing marine environments , 1990 .

[20]  I. Bailey,et al.  Renewable energy policy and public perceptions of renewable energy: A cultural theory approach , 2010 .

[21]  Carly McLachlan,et al.  'You don't do a chemistry experiment in your best china': Symbolic interpretations of place and technology in a wave energy case , 2009 .

[22]  Jacinto F. Fabiosa,et al.  Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change , 2008, Science.

[23]  Gordon Walker,et al.  What are the barriers and incentives for community-owned means of energy production and use? , 2008 .