Reefs on the foundations of offshore wind turbines could provide safe havens for wildlife. (Photo by Georgette Douwma via Shutterstock)
“Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency,” UN secretary-general António Guterres said at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon on 27 June 2022. “We must turn the tide.”
Ocean heating and acidification, sea-level rise and greenhouse gas concentrations all hit record levels last year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate 2021 report. Overfishing is laying waste to fish stocks and marine pollution is creating vast dead zones; populations of species such as sharks and rays have withered by more than 70% in the past 50 years.
One potential solution to counter marine biodiversity loss has emerged from an unlikely source: offshore wind farms. In a world first, marine biologists last month planted coral larvae at the base of offshore wind turbines in an attempt to grow new reefs off the coast of Taiwan. In fact, the idea represents just one of a number of ways scientists are teaming up with wind developers to turn offshore wind farms into safe havens for biodiversity.
Coral reefs provide habitats for around 32% of marine species and benefit – either directly or indirectly – more than one billion people, according to the UN Environment Programme. However, global warming is heating up the surface of the ocean, causing mass ‘bleaching’ events that are killing off tropical coral reefs and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Danish energy giant Ørsted has designed an innovative approach to combat the problem called ReCoral. The project involves collecting indigenous coral spawn as it washes ashore to plant new coral colonies on the foundations of nearby offshore wind turbines.
The waters of offshore wind farms further from shore tend to benefit from more stable temperatures than the shallower locations in which tropical coral reefs typically set up shop, because of a phenomenon called ‘vertical mixing’ in the water column. ReCoral aims to find out whether coral can grow on the foundations of offshore wind turbines – close enough to the surface to receive sufficient sunlight – to reduce the risk of catastrophic bleaching events.
Ørsted launched the project in 2020 and last year successfully grew juvenile corals on steel and concrete substrates at a quayside test facility. In June 2022, the developer started an offshore proof of concept trial on four turbines at the Greater Changua offshore wind farm off the coast of Taiwan.
Working with Taiwan's Penghu Marine Biology Research Centre, Ørsted has developed a non-invasive methodology for coral seeding, in vitro fertilisation, larvae transport and attachment of the larvae to the turbine foundations. Instead of extracting from existing coral colonies, ReCoral collects surplus coral egg bundles that would have otherwise died after washing ashore.
If the trial succeeds, Ørsted aims to scale-up the initiative and even use new coral larvae spawned on the wind farms to help restore existing near-shore reef systems. Ørsted believes the ReCoral concept has the potential to be applied to all offshore wind farms in tropical waters around the world. Energy Monitor - link - the brilliant Oliver Gordon - link - more like this (oceans in trouble) - link - more like this (Taiwan) - link - more like this (Orsted) - link
Ocean heating and acidification, sea-level rise and greenhouse gas concentrations all hit record levels last year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate 2021 report. Overfishing is laying waste to fish stocks and marine pollution is creating vast dead zones; populations of species such as sharks and rays have withered by more than 70% in the past 50 years.
One potential solution to counter marine biodiversity loss has emerged from an unlikely source: offshore wind farms. In a world first, marine biologists last month planted coral larvae at the base of offshore wind turbines in an attempt to grow new reefs off the coast of Taiwan. In fact, the idea represents just one of a number of ways scientists are teaming up with wind developers to turn offshore wind farms into safe havens for biodiversity.
Coral reefs provide habitats for around 32% of marine species and benefit – either directly or indirectly – more than one billion people, according to the UN Environment Programme. However, global warming is heating up the surface of the ocean, causing mass ‘bleaching’ events that are killing off tropical coral reefs and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Danish energy giant Ørsted has designed an innovative approach to combat the problem called ReCoral. The project involves collecting indigenous coral spawn as it washes ashore to plant new coral colonies on the foundations of nearby offshore wind turbines.
The waters of offshore wind farms further from shore tend to benefit from more stable temperatures than the shallower locations in which tropical coral reefs typically set up shop, because of a phenomenon called ‘vertical mixing’ in the water column. ReCoral aims to find out whether coral can grow on the foundations of offshore wind turbines – close enough to the surface to receive sufficient sunlight – to reduce the risk of catastrophic bleaching events.
Ørsted launched the project in 2020 and last year successfully grew juvenile corals on steel and concrete substrates at a quayside test facility. In June 2022, the developer started an offshore proof of concept trial on four turbines at the Greater Changua offshore wind farm off the coast of Taiwan.
Working with Taiwan's Penghu Marine Biology Research Centre, Ørsted has developed a non-invasive methodology for coral seeding, in vitro fertilisation, larvae transport and attachment of the larvae to the turbine foundations. Instead of extracting from existing coral colonies, ReCoral collects surplus coral egg bundles that would have otherwise died after washing ashore.
If the trial succeeds, Ørsted aims to scale-up the initiative and even use new coral larvae spawned on the wind farms to help restore existing near-shore reef systems. Ørsted believes the ReCoral concept has the potential to be applied to all offshore wind farms in tropical waters around the world. Energy Monitor - link - the brilliant Oliver Gordon - link - more like this (oceans in trouble) - link - more like this (Taiwan) - link - more like this (Orsted) - link
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