The Rich North Sea webinar: Nature conservation in Offshore Wind Farm HKW VI, the NGO Perspective

In this webinar, the Rich North Sea shares their thoughts on the tender criteria for the Offshore Wind Farm Hollandse Kust West VI in the Netherlands, which focused on the topic of nature conservation.

 
Concerning mitigation, the tender focuses on the harbour porpoise, three bat species and 140 bird species. It also awards the development of innovative solutions to prevent and mitigate effects on these populations.
 
For nature stimulation, the Hollandse Kust West VI (HKW) tender criteria focuses on marine habitat types such as sandbanks and reefs, as well as benthic habitats and fish communities. By building a wind farm in the HKW area, which is a sandbank-dominated area, we are introducing hard substrate in a previously soft substrate habitat.

The Rich North Sea recommendations focus on:

1) optimizing the design of the hard substrate surfaces of the wind farm to stimulate the formation of reefs and
2) optimizing the space in between the wind farm structures to facilitate soft sediment habitat such as sandbanks growth and protection.

By stimulating and protecting the two habitat types, the benthic community in both habitats can recover, grow and flourish. Fish communities, both benthic and pelagic, will benefit from a healthy seafloor and benthic community, be it soft or hard sediment. The Rich North Sea wants to emphasize the need for a healthy ecosystem and a holistic view of the seafloor and water column: by stimulating the bottom of the foodweb and protecting the area from harmful pressures, the entire ecosystem can flourish.

The presenters are:

Marjolein Kelder, Project Lead, De Rijke Noordzee

Baastian Vader, Branch Specialist — Offshore Wind, Netherlands Wind Energy Association

Rob van Tilburg, Programme Director, Natuur & Milieu

Huub den Rooijen, Managing Director, Marine, The Crown Estate

Webinar presentations include videos from De Rijke Noordzee, Vogelbescherming and Stichting De Noordzee

Webinar Video

Download the Main Findings here