THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Engineering : Postgrad (School of Engineering)

Postgraduate Course: Marine Renewables and Society (IDCORE) (PGEE11095)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typePlacement AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course broadens students understanding of the competing interests associated with marine real-estate, and how they impact the site selection, progress and compromises enforced on marine renewable energy developments. The latest methods used to balance competing interests (Marine Spatial Planning and Social License to Operate) are introduced and discussed. The legal processes used to assess environmental impacts are covered to a level where students will understand the relevance and timescales associated with environment consenting processes. Topics include introduction to marine resources; overview of marine users; marine governance, policy, and planning; overview of assessment mechanisms.
It provides students with a detailed understanding of the societal issues surrounding the deployment, operation and decommissioning of, current and future, offshore renewable energy technologies.
Course description Overview of Marine Users:
Provides an understanding of various users of the marine environment. In particular, overlapping and competing resources (Biodiversity, Fisheries, Aquaculture, Renewables, Hydrocarbon industry, Shipping (Navigation)), Aesthetic and non-material values
Discusses marine users past, present, and future to understand where they are coming from and where they might be going.
Discusses potential (positive & negative) interactions that different users of the marine environment might have with each other and how these potential impacts translate into trade-offs.
Discusses conflict avoidance, conflict resolution and compensation.
Introduces Social License to Operate as a framework for understand the relationship between marine industry and local communities.

Marine Governance, Policy, and Planning:
Sets up the global and local marine policy landscape for renewables.
Provides an overview of management paradigms (moving away from single-species resource management towards ecosystem management, adaptive (co-) management, and resilience-based ecosystem stewardship).
Explores the international, EU, UK, and Scottish regulatory requirements in which the renewables industry operates (Scottish Marine Bill, the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act, and the EU Integrated Maritime Strategy, EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Habitat Directive, OSPAR) and their consequences e.g. marine spatial planning and MPAs:
Provides an overview and examples of Marine Spatial Planning
Provides an overview of the MPA designation, implementation, and management process

Overview of Assessment Mechanisms:
SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment). Important policy related assessment done at governmental level of the potential environmental impacts of plans or policy especially at a non-local or cumulative scale. Considers existing SEA work for renewables in the UK.
EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). EIA is a process driven by Government requiring assessment of the potential impacts on the local environment of new developments.
Considers the EIA requirements related to society that are typically requested within the scope of the renewables industry.
Provides an overview of SIA (Social Impact Assessment). Although a brief economic assessment of the costs and benefits of development is normal within the EIA process, a more detailed social impact assessment is often lacking. Social impact assessment (SIA) is a methodology to review the social effects of development projects.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 12, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 18, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 40, Fieldwork Hours 7, External Visit Hours 6, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 8, Revision Session Hours 6, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 0 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework (100%)
Syndicate projects carried out during the week and presented to the class and teaching staff at the end (with a pass/fail criteria).
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
Students will have a broad understanding of the competing interests associated with marine real-estate, and how they impact the site selection, progress and compromises enforced on marine renewable energy developments.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Special Arrangements None
KeywordsOffshore Renewable Energy,Professional Doctorate,Society,governance,marine,users,spatial,planning
Contacts
Course organiserProf David Ingram
Tel: (0131 6)51 9022
Email:
Course secretaryDr Katrina Tait
Tel: (0131 6)51 9023
Email:
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