Not only on land but also at sea, wind farms are becoming an increasingly important part of our gradual transition to renewable energy. On the other hand, generating wind energy at sea, like all human activities, also has consequences for the marine environment and the organisms that live there. However, at the start of the construction of the first offshore wind farms, there was little knowledge about this…
What effects do wind farms have on biodiversity in and on the seabed, in the water column and even above the water surface? Can we limit aspects of negative impact and promote positive aspects, and how? Can multiple use of space at sea (such as a combination of offshore wind farms with, for example, solar energy generation, oyster farming and also nature restoration) contribute to keeping our growing human claim on marine space within limits?
In the documentary ‘Offshore wind farms, can they coexist with nature?’ ARTE examines these questions and shows how the scientific monitoring is carried out.
In Belgium, the research and monitoring programme WinMon.BE has been investigating the ecological consequences of offshore wind farms for 15 years, right from the start of the installation of the first turbines. WinMon.BE is coordinated by the Institute of Natural Sciences and carried out in collaboration with various partners, and inspires similar programmes worldwide. Our scientists and the research vessel RV Belgica are therefore prominently featured in the ARTE documentary.
While challenges remain (such as limiting the impact on seabirds and migratory birds) and new challenges are expected (such as reducing underwater noise when larger offshore wind turbines are built in the future), the documentary makes it clear that the story of the ecological impact of offshore wind farms will never be a black and white story. We need to balance our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (to halt global warming) against the undesirable consequences these efforts may have on certain species or ecosystems. The positive insights generated by monitoring the ecological impact of offshore wind farms should be further used to better ‘build with nature’ in the future, where nature development is integrated into human projects at sea as much as possible from the design phase.
Watch the 52-minute documentary here: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/108979-000-A/offshore-wind-farms/
Sit back, relax and learn!