By Jay Sheppard, MEW Project Manager.
The Crown Estate’s new report, Tidal Stream Energy Project: Collision Risk Data and Evidence Summary (2025), offers more than a summary of monitoring techniques and collision risk findings—it offers a story. A story of how we’ve evolved our understanding of marine environments, how we’ve innovated to overcome uncertainty, and how we’re still learning to turn terabytes into trust.
With over 40 terabytes of monitoring data now uploaded from the Morlais Marine Characterisation Research Project alone, we’re witnessing an inflection point. We’re not short on data. We’re short on clarity, coordination and connection.
Before we dive into the report’s recommendations, it’s worth retracing the sector’s journey—told through a series of pivotal case studies. Together, they form a living archive of our progress.
Charting the Evidence Journey: Five Projects that Shaped the Sector
1. SeaGen, Strangford Lough
Installed in 2008, SeaGen was the UK’s first commercial-scale tidal turbine. Located in a sensitive Marine Protected Area, it forced early reckonings with questions of ecological safety. Studies showed no collisions, but acoustic disturbance and avoidance behaviour were noted. The project pioneered post-installation monitoring techniques and helped normalise impact modelling as part of consenting.
SeaGen taught us that demonstration projects can generate not just electricity, but precedent.
2. Shetland Tidal Array, Bluemull Sound
Nova Innovation’s project in Shetland produced some of the earliest real-world telemetry data on seal interactions. Key findings confirmed low collision risk and localised avoidance. What stood out here was the use of multiple monitoring modalities—hydrophones, cameras, and sonar—layered to create a fuller picture.
Shetland taught us the power of multi-modal, cross-validated monitoring in building scientific and regulatory confidence.
3. MeyGen, Inner Sound
At scale, MeyGen brought new challenges. Though still relatively small, it provided the first opportunity to monitor array effects over time. Data showed no sustained barrier effects but did indicate avoidance when turbines were active. The richness of monitoring here—from seal tagging to underwater acoustics—offered a blueprint for how to scale up both arrays and confidence.
MeyGen taught us that scaling up arrays demands a parallel scaling up of nuance in our impact models.
4. European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Orkney
EMEC isn’t a project—it’s a crucible. With a revolving cast of test devices, it’s offered 18,000+ hours of marine mammal and seabird observations. FLOWBEC deployments and sonar-based detection pushed the boundaries of what autonomous monitoring could achieve.
EMEC taught us that long-term data collection, even in the absence of permanent arrays, has cumulative value that far exceeds the sum of its parts.
5. Morlais Demonstration Zone, Anglesey
Morlais represents the next generation. Its Marine Characterisation Research Programme (MCRP) is redefining how data is used—proactively and adaptively. With AI-ready baselines, real-time monitoring tools, and a commitment to open data (via the Marine Data Exchange), Morlais is setting the bar for environmental intelligence at scale.
Morlais is teaching us that good data isn’t retrospective—it’s strategic. It drives consent readiness before turbines hit the water.
Reflecting on the Recommendations
The Crown Estate’s six headline recommendations aren’t just technical—they’re systemic:
- Strategic Coordination – No more data in isolation. Aligning collection efforts across geographies and technologies is critical to understanding cumulative impacts and avoiding duplication.
- Marine Data Exchange Utilisation – Open data is essential infrastructure. If it’s not accessible, it might as well not exist.
- Methodological Standardisation – Without common methodologies, we’re left comparing apples to oranges. Standardisation is the gateway to trusted evidence.
- Better Use of Existing Data – Baselines exist. Let’s use them. Especially for cumulative impact assessments, the answers may already be hiding in plain sight.
- Invest in Analysis, Not Just Collection – We must shift investment from gathering raw data to interpreting it. AI, machine learning, and visualisation tools should be front and centre.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration – Data only builds trust when it’s created and reviewed in dialogue. That means developers, researchers, and regulators around the same table—early and often.
From Monitoring to Meaning
This report marks a shift—from data collection to data culture. From asking “Do we have enough data?” to “Are we learning from what we have?”
The marine renewable energy sector has always carried the burden of proof heavier than most. But perhaps the way forward lies not in producing ever more evidence, but in making our existing knowledge more usable, transferrable, and embedded into the consenting process.
The Crown Estate’s summary is a step towards that future—one where data isn’t just a compliance tool, but a collective asset.
Now, the work begins: to connect what we know, challenge what we assume, and consent the future we need.