Reviewing the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms

Abstract

Offshore wind energy is widely regarded as one of the most credible sources for increasing renewable energy production towards a resilient and decarbonised energy supply. However, current expectations for the expansion of energy production from offshore wind may lead to significant environmental impacts. Assessing ecological risks to marine ecosystems from electricity production from wind is both timely and vital. It will support the adoption of management measures that minimize impacts and the environmental sustainability of the offshore wind energy sector.

A sustainable ocean for all

“…Calls to address social equity in ocean governance are expanding, and a framework is presented to support consistent operationalization of equity and evaluate progress without oversimplification. A second Review article by Galparsoro et al 12 closes this first issue, highlighting the ecological impacts of offshore wind energy production. The scaling up of ocean energy production will take place in upcoming years due to the need for decarbonization and climate change mitigation, as well as ensuring future energy independence in Europe and other regions of the world.…”

Challenging the new blue deal by embedding interactions with the non-humans in the offshore renewable energy development

“…Offshore wind farm (OWF) development is increasingly seen as a climate-friendly way for energy supply by contributing decarbonizing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 "Affordable and Clean Energy" (IEA, 2019;Galparsoro et al, 2022). In addition, technological advances and increasing demand for renewable energy (Glarou et al, 2020) added to the European goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and lead to the integration of this technology option into the future energy mix.…”

“…They can provide some positive impacts as well. With few exceptions like Galparsoro et al (2022), the scientific literature reviews separately negative and positive impacts. Hernandez et al (2021) stress the importance of understanding the relationship between the activities associated with an OWF and their impacts, distinguishing effects from impacts (Taormina et al, 2018;Hernandez et al, 2021).…”

“…They all mainly identify ecosystem degradation; habitat loss for marine mammals, fish, benthic communities (at the installation and operation stages); habitat disturbance for birds and bats (at the operation stage); changes on habitat at the seabed level for benthic communities (at the installation and decommissioning stage); and physical damage for marine mammals, birds, and bats (at the installation, operation stage). However, there are still gaps in scientific knowledge about the ecological impact of wind turbines (Dannheim et al, 2020;WWF, 2014); especially, uncertainties remain regarding the assessment of cumulative impacts (Galparsoro et al, 2022). Nevertheless, Gartman et al (2016a); Gartman et al 2016b) identify how to design turbines and operate their installation and operation to minimize impacts on marine species and habitats and reduce risks on marine life.…”

“…The magnitude and the matter of concern are determined case by case for each specific OWF project. The initial state and resilience of the area can vary and impact differently some ecosystem elements (Causon and Gill, 2018;Gill, 2005;Cook et al, 2018;Galparsoro et al, 2022). Lloret et al (2022) demonstrate that importing the northern European sea OWF model development to the Mediterranean Sea is not straightforward.…”