Sustainable decommissioning of offshore wind farms

Within the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature (OCEaN), Natuur & Milieu, in collaboration with the wind industry, transmission system operators (TSO’s) and other NGOs, is working towards the sustainable development of offshore energy that respects marine ecosystem protection. To support our work in this area, Natuur & Milieu, together with The North Sea Foundation, BirdLife International, and the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI), received a grant from the Velux Foundation.

Since 2022, these organizations have been working together to promote offshore projects within the EU that fully consider environmental factors and apply an ecosystem-based approach. The aim is to create a platform that fosters technical innovation through knowledge sharing and works to practically eliminate, reduce, or offset cumulative environmental impacts. Our focus is on the offshore industry, the EU, and individual member states.

Specifically, Natuur & Milieu is working on the following outputs:

• Development of guidelines for a better (ecological) design of offshore energy infrastructure, incl. nature inclusive design principles​
• Development of principals for a circular economy windfarm, including decommissioning methods that take into consideration the potential creation of new ecosystems within the windfarm (e.g., reefs)​
• Best practice exchange via webinars or expert meetings

Read the report ‘Towards sustainable decommissioning’
Read the report ‘Conditions for sustainable decommissioning of offshore wind turbines’
Read the OCEaN report ‘Avoidance & minimisation of environmental iimpacts from offshore wind & grid infrastructure‘

Or go directly to the summary