Launch of Report: Avoidance and Minimisation of Environmental Impacts from Offshore Wind and Grid Infrastructure

In order to support the deployment of offshore wind and grid in a nature-friendly manner, OCEaN – North & Baltic Seas has identified 80 measures through which wind and grid developers can minimise potential environmental impacts on marine ecosystems. This work includes measures that reflect the first two steps of the mitigation hierarchy – avoidance and minimisation. This was done by combining the fragmented knowledge on available avoidance and minimisation measures for offshore wind and grid infrastructure, including the most recent, relevant, and available information, and finding common ground between the diverse stakeholders that make up OCEaN. Furthermore, ‘best practice’ measures were identified, which are implemented across multiple sites and are proven to effectively reduce negative environmental impacts.

All of this work has now been summarised in a new report ‘Avoidance and Minimisation of Environmental Impacts from Offshore Wind and Grid Infrastructure‘. The purpose of this report is to outline the methodology used by OCEaN – North & Baltic Seas, provide a summary of the identified measures, highlight knowledge gaps and areas where mitigation efforts are still lacking, and provide recommendations on how to improve the deployment of offshore wind and grid to achieve even better outcomes for nature.

We invite you to explore the report and then check out our Mitigation Measures Database, featuring a summary of collected measures to help developers avoid and minimise potential environmental impacts on marine ecosystems. A full collection of these measures, their current implementation status, and real-world examples are available upon request.

It is our hope that this report and database will provide inspiration and guidance towards achieving a nature friendly energy transition at sea.