Published: 24th October 2022
Back to NewsContributions to OWEER V4 requested by Friday 11th November
JNCC and Defra are currently collecting information for the fourth version Offshore Wind Environmental Evidence Register (OWEER), a register of environmental evidence gaps and current research projects relating to offshore wind (fixed bottom and floating) in the UK. This project was commissioned by The Crown Estate and is being run by Defra and JNCC. The third iteration was published in June 2022 and is freely available on the Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange (MDE) website.
The existence of the OWEER relies on contributions from stakeholders. The OWEER aims to reduce replication of research effort and fosters collaboration between organisations in the industry. Contributing information allows for your organisation and your research to be represented in this tool and helps facilitate the sustainable development of offshore wind to meet the UKs ambitious renewable energy goals.
For all contributors (whether you have contributed before or not), JNCC and Defra ask that you;
- Check Evidence Gaps and Existing Research projects within the register, which you have been involved in or recently commissioned (you can filter by contributor, see link above);
- Confirm you are happy with the content attributed to your organisation; and
- Provide new content or updates for any emerging issues or recently started research projects that may be missing from the latest version of the register.
JNCC and Defra have created a template for amending OR adding in new content to the register in the file below. The two tabs are divided into evidence gaps and current research projects. The OWEER is further subdivided into receptor groups as follows: benthic, ornithology, marine mammals, fish, and “overarching”, which covers gaps and projects not related to a specific receptor. JNCC and Defra would appreciate if you can collaborate within your organisation to provide a collective response for these 5 groups if you have information for them. A third tab in the attached spreadsheet gives some examples of themes for evidence gaps and projects for each for the receptor groups.
The fourth register of the OWEER will be published in January 2023. If you wish to contribute information, please send your filled out spreadsheet with either an update or new information you haven’t provided before to OWECEvidenceRegister@jncc.gov.uk by COP Friday 11th November. If you wish to contribute but are unable to make this deadline, please contact us.
Please be aware that the information provided by you will be made public as the OWEER will be published on the Crown Estate’s data portal, the Marine Data Exchange (MDE). Therefore, please do not provide any confidential information unless it is explicitly marked as such.
You can download the spreadsheet here: