But because the concepts are new, few devices have been deployed and tested in rivers and oceans, and even fewer environmental studies of these technologies have been carried out. Thus, their potential environmental effects remain mostly speculative. Movement is under way, particularly by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to perform the research necessary to address the uncertainties about the environmental effects of MHK technologies, with a view toward getting devices in the water.
Report to Congress
To address some of these uncertainties, the U.S. Congress — in Section 633(b) of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 — called for a report that addressed potential environmental impacts, including impacts to fisheries and marine resources, of MHK technologies; options to prevent adverse environmental impacts; potential role of monitoring and adaptive management in identifying and addressing any adverse environmental impacts; and necessary components of such an adaptive management program.
The EISA Report was completed in 2009 by DOE, in conjunction with the departments of Commerce and the Interior.
The report focused on potential effects of MHK technologies on aquatic environments (rivers, estuaries and oceans), fish and fish habitat, ecological relationships and other marine and freshwater resources (such
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