Dr. Andrea Copping
Senior Research Scientist for PNNL
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Andrea Copping is an oceanographer and senior research scientist for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, one of the US Department of Energy’s national laboratories, located in Seattle and Sequim, Washington State. Andrea focuses on environmental effects of offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy development, and the role that these effects play in technology development and project initiation across the nation. Using risk-based approaches, Dr. Copping leads a research team that integrates laboratory, field, and modeling measurements into a coherent body of evidence to support siting and permitting decisions. Andrea leads international projects that share information on environmental effects of wave and tidal (Annex IV) and wind energy (WREN) to benefit from progress made around the world. In addition, Dr. Copping has been examining trade-offs among different renewable energy sources, as they relate to one another in smaller “maritime markets”, as alternatives to utility scale energy production. Key end users she works with include ocean observation, recharging underwater vehicles, and offshore aquaculture. Dr. Copping is a Distinguished Research Fellow in the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, an associate editor of Coastal Management Journal, and serves on the editorial board of the International Marine Energy Journal.