Results

North Sea Offshore Pilot

Increasingly, incentives are being put forth to encourage the uptake of nature-based solutions in the offshore wind sector to restore reef habitats. In the Dutch North Sea, for example, some windfarm tenders require scour protection installation to involve reef-forming solutions. These requirements list specific design criteria and target species. As part of the Living Windfarms Project, Exo Engineering have developed an artificial reef design tailored to these criteria, and are now trialling it at pilot scale.

Five reef units have been installed as a pilot study at one of TotalEnergies' offshore infrastructure sites, where the biodiversity uplift they provide is being monitored throughout the project. The pilot is designed to test the concept under real offshore conditions and build the evidence base needed before any wider deployment. Supported by the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP), it aims to research the effectiveness of artificial reefs in habitat and population restoration for species such as cod.

Each reef unit, specially designed by Exo Engineering, weighs 4.8 tonnes and creates a habitat for young fish species and reef-building organisms like Ross worm. This pilot, a collaboration between TotalEnergies EP Nederland, Exo Engineering, and the Living Windfarms Project, will assess the impact of these reefs on marine ecosystems, with findings informing how the design develops from here.