Nature-inclusive designs for offshore wind farms
Contribution
Wind farms can contribute to active reinforcement of the ecosystem.
Collaboration
A catalog of nature-inclusive design options has been developed by Witteveen+Bos and Wageningen Marine Research.
Contribution
Wind farms can contribute to active reinforcement of the ecosystem.
Collaboration
A catalog of nature-inclusive design options has been developed by Witteveen+Bos and Wageningen Marine Research.
Nature-inclusive designs for offshore wind farms
There will be some 11 gigawatts of wind farms in the Dutch North Sea by 2030. This may interfere with the proper functioning of the marine ecosystem. But the wind farms can also contribute to strengthening the ecosystem actively. Restoring degraded habitats in the North Sea can be given a boost by making smart adjustments to the design of offshore infrastructure. That’s the idea behind the Dutch government’s current policy.
Offshore wind farm permit holders will be obliged to take measures to increase the suitable habitat for naturally-occurring species in the North Sea. They are now looking for ways to set up their wind farms to be nature-inclusive. The practical question is: what opportunities are there to improve nature and what will they cost?
Catalogue with nature-inclusive design options
Witteveen+Bos has carried out several projects in the field of nature-inclusive construction in the North Sea. In 2020, we collaborated with Wageningen Marine Research to develop a catalogue of nature-inclusive design options. The focus was on measures for native species that are under pressure, such as cod and flat oysters, although many other species can also benefit from the measures. The catalogue also covers a number of commercial species, such as the North Sea crab and the European lobster. This catalogue was commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
In line with this, in 2024 we worked on an Assessment Framework and Catalogue for Nature-Inclusive Construction in the North Sea, commissioned by the North Sea Consultation and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. This framework was set up to implement agreement 5.2 of the North Sea Agreement.
This ensures that 'agreements are made periodically in the North Sea Consultation on the best available techniques for mitigation and nature-enhancing construction, ecologically friendly practices, and the impact of these on new installations and objects'. This requires clarity about what the best available techniques are. This is discussed in the report, as is a technique that can be used to weigh up current and future techniques in an integrated manner for the purposes of decision-making.
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