Offshore wind farms can have an impact on the marine ecosystems they are built in and upon, a new study has found, but much more research is needed to understand those impacts and how to best plan for them.

Researchers from the Hereon Institute of Coastal Systems — Analysis and Modeling – in Germany looked at the potential impacts of the planned expansion of offshore wind in the North Sea that will be required to meet the European Green Deal goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. 

“Our results show that the extensive expansion of offshore wind farms will have a significant impact on the structuring of marine coastal ecosystems,” study co-author Ute Daewel said in a press release. “We need to better understand these impacts quickly and also take them into account in the management of coastal ecosystems.” 

The North Sea has become a “global hotspot for offshore wind energy production” because of its shallow sandbanks and steady wind supply, the study authors wrote in Communications Earth & Environment last […]