Offshore wind farms and seafood production

Should we expect more multi-use integrated projects that co-locate power generation with fishing and aquaculture? 

As expansive as the ocean seems, it is becoming an increasingly crowded space. Coastal waters invariably bear the brunt, supporting various activities and industries, such as food production and energy generation. If the blue economy is to thrive, creating multi-use space is essential. 

"Combining activities [such as seafood and energy generation] in the marine environment is logically a good idea", says Dr Suzannah-Lynn Billing, who works for the Scottish Association for Marine Science. "However, how we actually accomplish that is another matter." 

Operational challenges

Many of the challenges in combining wind and seafood production are operational. For example, most wind turbines are fixed to the sea floor with concrete or steel pillars. In contrast, the newer breed of floating turbines, which are still largely in development, are tethered to the seabed with chains, making them particularly suitable for deep-water locations. In both cases, undersea cables carry energy from the turbines to the shore. Any contact from fishing or aquaculture activities may damage the cables, potentially cutting energy and putting the lives of fishers or aquaculturalists at risk.  

Other concerns include safe navigation around the turbines and attracting seabirds that could fatally collide with turbine blades.

Piloting solutions

Over the years, there have been several pilot studies seeking to find workable solutions. One of the most recent is between the Marine Scotland Directorate of the Scottish Government and energy company Equinor. They are currently studying whether creels, fishtraps, and jigging line fisheries can work safely with floating wind farms.  

Progress, however, has largely been limited to pilot schemes. To break this inertia, the Dutch Government has taken a different approach. "In the Netherlands, one offshore wind farm is open for multiple use," says Zinzi Reimert from North Sea Farmers. "From now on, every new wind farm that's being built has to be open." 

Wind farm operators and aquaculturalists collaborate

North Sea Farmers is a membership-based foundation that seeks to accelerate and strengthen the seaweed industry. Farming within windfarms, Reimert says, means seaweed farms can scale up without taking up additional space in the already crowded North Sea. 

Given the added complexity of bringing additional activities into the same space as turbines, Reimert notes that it is understandable that wind farm operators and seafood producers are weary of multiple-use areas. Crucial to their success, she explains, is collaboration between all parties. "When you apply for a permit, you are also going to have meetings with the wind farm owner to see how to work within the wind farm. We will learn how to develop in the most optimal way, together." 

North Sea Farmers hope to place their first seaweed farm in a wind farm in the summer of 2023. In the meantime, they are continuing to develop techniques that will allow seaweed farms to operate with minimal disruption to the wind farm operations. This includes anchoring systems that last the wind farm's lifespan to minimise activity on the seabed and planning optimal seaweed farm placement for minimal disruption to wind farm operations while maximising seaweed productivity. "We're really in it together and looking for what's possible for everyone," says Reimert.

How North Sea Farmers envision seaweed farms siting inside a wind farm from below the water. (Credit: North Sea Farmers)

Community buy-in

As the logistical elements of multi-use wind farms resolve, another issue, particularly relevant to multi-use areas closer to shore, should be considered; a social licence to operate (SLO). 

"A social licence isn’t a formal license, but one that’s based on trust, between the operator and the community,” says Billing. In essence, operators who have a social license have local community buy-in, and as a result, can work within an area without facing planning or legal challenges, protests or complaints.  

In a recently published study in Energy Research & Social Science, Billing and colleagues explored the social licence of multi-use wind-fish farms in Islay, Scotland, and Reggio Calabria, Italy. "In Italy and Scotland, the idea of a platform containing both wind turbines and fish farming was seen as better than fish farming alone but worse than wind turbines alone," says Billing.  

"If we can improve acceptability from the design stage, that's an important thing to know. Likewise, if we know that fish farming reduces acceptability of these types of platforms, then we know that is a key point to address when working with the communities that might host them," Billing concludes. 

Dr Sam Andrews is a marine ecologist and science writer