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Published: 2023

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At the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) distributed an online questionnaire to gather feedback on research and development priorities regarding underwater noise associated with fixed-bottom offshore wind turbine installations in U.S. waters. For background, NREL and PNNL, the project team, hosted a virtual workshop in December 2022 to gather initial input on noise reduction strategies and recommendations for research and development (see the workshop report1 for more information). The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Proposed Quieting Performance Target was also presented at the workshop as reference to the scale of noise reduction being considered. To refine and enhance the results of the workshop, the project team distributed a brief questionnaire in May 2023 (Appendix A) to the workshop invitees, 255 potential respondents. In total, 46 respondents completed the questionnaire, and most respondents identified as an Environmental Scientist or Researcher, Government Representative, or an Offshore Wind Project Developer. The 12 questions in the questionnaire were developed in discussions by the project team and informed by guidance from DOE WETO. The research and development themes resulting from the initial workshop informed the six topics presented in the questionnaire: data access, standardization, and model consistency; research, development, and deployment (RDD) of alternative foundation types; RDD of new monitoring strategies and technologies; RDD of noise abatement and mitigation technologies (including alternative installation techniques); research to assess disturbance on marine species and habitats; and supply chain and infrastructure improvements. This report summarizes the results of the questionnaire and provides recommendations to WETO on research and development priorities.