Scientists have brought data together from seven countries around the North Sea to ensure that the expansion of offshore wind also delivers biodiversity net gains
The North Sea Net Gain study, led by The Crown Estate in partnership with the Rich North Sea programme in the Netherlands, aims to ensure that decisions taken about the next generation of offshore windfarms are based on the most comprehensive information.
The North Sea is one of the first regions in the world to develop offshore windfarms at scale, providing opportunities to test new approaches. The approach taken by the study could provide useful templates for other regions such as the Celtic Sea, as well as global regions where offshore wind energy is planned.
The Crown Estate managing director of marine Huub den Rooijen said, “Offshore wind will play a pivotal role in decarbonisation and the UK’s transition to net zero but delivering that potential in the most sustainable way requires balanced and holistic consideration of the natural environment and other marine activities.
“This study, delivered through our Offshore Wind Evidence and Change programme, makes an important contribution to strengthening essential biodiversity data. It will be invaluable not just to the UK but across the world, helping to ensure the successful and sustainable expansion of new offshore wind farms in other locations.”
Rich North Sea director Erwin Coolen said, “We need to conserve, enhance and sustainably use our North Sea. The roll-out of offshore wind, which we need urgently to tackle climate change, must be within the ecological boundaries of our North Sea, meaning sustainable development that includes enhanced understanding of the conditions at site.
“Decision-making on future offshore windfarms must be based on the most comprehensive information and deliver biodiversity net gain. Biodiversity is not influenced by borders and neither should we be. It is great to have collaborated and shared knowledge on an international level.”
The project to develop a centralised data set is funded by The Crown Estate’s £25M investment in its Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme, and by The Rich North Sea programme. It is being delivered by the UK’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the Flanders Marine Institute, supported by a project advisory group which includes members from Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
The study responds to an urgent need to improve understanding of the biodiversity of the seabed on a larger scale. Through the adoption of a big data approach, development of big data infrastructure, and expansion of an existing dataset, the findings of the study are enhancing understanding of the seabed. The scientists involved say this kind of approach is likely to play a significant role in the sustainable development of offshore wind in the North Sea and that the findings of the work provide important context for decision-makers.
Data collected by industry, government and academic sources from seven countries have been brought together into a central data set containing around 50,000 seabed samples with more than 1.4 million records, and state-of-the-art modelling techniques have been used to map sea floor biodiversity across international boundaries.
The project, which began in 2021, has produced modelled data layers and apps to help ensure that decisions around offshore wind deployment can be made using the most comprehensive information. Through a data mining process, detailed maps have been produced of habitats and the distribution of key species in the North Sea.
Two online apps have been produced under the name ‘OneBenthic.’ The OneBenthic Data Extraction Tool provides developers, regulators and decision makers with access to the enhanced big data collected by the study. The OneBenthic Layers Tool provides access to biodiversity models developed under this and other research projects.
The enhanced data is already being used in other Offshore Wind Evidence and Change programme projects which will develop additional biodiversity knowledge, including POSEIDON, a four-year project launched in January 2022 and led by Natural England, which will improve the knowledge of environmental risks across UK waters.
The projects will enhance understanding of the seabed and will be added to the OneBenthic Layers tool once complete. International collaboration has also supported enhanced the flow of data between the UK and European data repositories, widening the accessibility of seabed biodiversity data.
The North Sea Net Gain report can be read here.
