Offshore wind farms: good for the environment?

Offshore wind farms (OWF) have been common in the North Sea for decades, but in other regions of the world, we are just now on the verge of a large expansion of this technology. OWFs are considered very important for movement away from fossil fuels and new OWFs are being developed in new, vastly different areas, e.g. deep waters, rocky bottom, and using new technologies, e.g. floating platforms. Hence, we will need to apply lessons from the North Sea and expand our understanding of what these new developments will mean for the newly impacted marine ecosystems. To accomplish this, we need interdisciplinary teams to consider possible solutions, and new problems that could arise from these solutions, to ensure this new technology creates an overall benefit to the environment and minimizes harm to marine ecosystems.

Relevant competency

Implementation of a new industry in the marine environment requires a diverse, interdisciplinary team, to address different aspects of the technological, environmental, and societal needs arising from this development. Some examples of competencies that will be needed across groups include:

• Marine technology, civil, or mechanical engineering: address efficient design, etc.
• Ocean resources: understanding marine ecosystem implications and resource extraction issues
• Electric power engineering: technological challenges and limitations to production, transmission etc.
• Sustainable development: management of environmental impacts and impacts on ecosystem services; social repercussion of technology development
• Economics and business administration: addressing the economic perspective
• Policy and communication: translating engineering and science into socially relevant format

About the village

In this village, we will learn about the benefits and challenges of offshore wind power generation. Some of the topics you may be working on with your team include development of solutions to ensure minimal impacts of offshore wind farms, designing appropriate communication techniques for relaying solutions to policy makers and managers, or evaluating suitability of locations for new developments.

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