We are excited to announce a virtual workshop on understanding Pacific Northwest community, tribal, and other public information needs around marine Carbon Dioxide Removal and Marine Energy, sponsored by the DOE Water Power Technologies Office. The workshop will take place in 3 sessions during the week of June 17th. Please save these dates and register for the workshop if you plan to participate:
June 17, 1 PM – 3 PM Pacific: Kickoff Meeting and mCDR-focused discussion
June 18, 1 PM – 3 PM Pacific: Marine Energy – focused discussion
June 21, 10 AM – 12 PM Pacific: Bridging mCDR and ME needs
Given expanding scientific and technological interest in using the ocean for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) and marine energy (ME; also called marine renewable energy or marine hydrokinetic energy), it will be essential to design responsible, community-forward research that is attentive to societal priorities, especially during early technical deployments. While some sensible limits can already be placed on projects (e.g., limiting the size, scale, and impact of testing in the direct marine environment), understanding the place-based needs and priorities of community members can also help tailor research methods to maximize community benefit, safety, and sustainability. Accessible and reliable information on mCDR and ME is also essential to supporting informed consent during permitting processes.
Overall, these sessions will be focused primarily on listening to non-experts. A brief information session on mCDR and ME will be provided on the kickoff day, but otherwise we will be seeking community feedback. This listening and engagement session is focused on coastal communities in the US Pacific Northwest, including Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. We welcome all members of the public to participate, regardless of their familiarity with mCDR or ME. Our goal is to find out what you want to know about mCDR and ME in our region. We are discussing these topics together as preliminary feedback has suggested that they may share similar public information needs.
Our definition of “information needs” is broad. Sometimes, existing knowledge may be able to answer key questions, but other cases may require additional collaboration, research, or reflection. Communities may also seek to share their own wisdom, knowledge, or resources relevant to these topics. This workshop will also explore how new information can be best shared. On the last day of the workshop, we hope to consolidate some consensus ideas around information needs across this spectrum. These ideas will then be taken back to a panel of subject matter experts (technical experts, social science experts, education experts, and community leaders) to design an education and research plan that answers public questions on these important topics.
To attend these sessions, we encourage you to register for the workshop here and consider answering a survey about marine CDR and marine energy here. If you want to learn more about mCDR or ME before the sessions, you can visit:
mCDR: https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/marine-carbon-dioxide-removal
ME: https://tethys.pnnl.gov/glossary
Please share this information widely with your networks and encourage interested parties to attend. Your voice matters, and we look forward to hearing from you.
--Jessica Cross and Lenaig Hemery, on behalf of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s mCDR and ME teams
Please remember that in this case, Marine Energy excludes offshore wind, but does include energy generation from waves, tides, ocean currents, ocean thermal energy, salinity gradients, and the run of rivers.