The rapid expansion of offshore wind energy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform global energy systems sustainably. However, as floating offshore wind ventures into deeper, more-complex marine environments, it introduces new and exciting scientific challenges. How do these structures shape underwater ecosystems? What are their long-term impacts on marine life? How can we harness cutting-edge technology to enhance environmental monitoring and accelerate the transition to renewable energy, while protecting our oceans?
In response to concerns over climate change and energy security, there are ambitious targets for the expansion of offshore renewable energy. Unprecedented levels of offshore wind are planned for UK waters in coming years. Current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) timelines often take 10-12 years from bid to consent, and regulators are under increasing pressure to make decisions with uncertainty of effects, all in the context of climate change, energy security and changing use of our seas. Wider policy includes marine or biodiversity net gain; however, benefits are often challenging to quantify.
An ecosystem approach, with an understanding across trophic levels of the links between habitat, mobile animals, prey and predictable aspects of oceanographic processes, can help to reduce uncertainty in EIA. This approach can explain often-high levels of variance in observations and has the potential to reduce risk and timelines for consenting, and increase confidence in decision making.
At the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), we are answering these questions through pioneering research. Supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), The Crown Estate, and leading industry partners such as Ørsted, we are developing next-generation environmental monitoring techniques. Our innovative projects – ECOWind PELAgIO, ECOFLOW EQUIFy, IFLOW, and PREDICT – combine multi-sensor seabed platforms, autonomous gliders, ship-based surveys, and satellite remote-sensing to provide unparalleled insights into offshore wind ecosystem interactions. As part of these projects, we are developing and demonstrating new at-sea methods to collect data on physics, fish, seabirds and mammals, using novel combinations of multi-sensor seabed platforms across the North Sea and Celtic Sea. The research programmes are focused on delivering the critical evidence needs of government and industry required to inform policy and decision making on planned large-scale expansion of offshore wind.
ECOWind: PELAgIO
PELAgIO is supporting support the development of evidence-based policy and marine management through interdisciplinary research that explores the consequences of offshore wind development on marine environments, marine wildlife, and wider ecosystem structures. By observing and modelling over a large range of physical and biological scales, using a combination of autonomous platforms and ocean robots, research vessels and satellite observations, PELAgIO is building an ecosystem-level understanding of projected changes.
ECOFlow: EQUIFy
EQUIFy is quantifying the impacts of ecosystem change throughout the lifecycle of UK floating offshore wind farms using an array of modelling approaches, autonomous monitoring systems and decision support tools.
PREDICT
PREDICT is investigating fish migration patterns as prey availability to better predict the locations and seasons where top-level predators (seabirds and mammals) may have increased interaction with windfarms, and the next-generation tools required to monitor this.
IFLOW
IFLOW is utilising a range of data-collection methodologies including active acoustics (echosounders), ADCPs and passive acoustics (hydrophones) to investigate the distribution and behaviour of fish and marine mammals around floating offshore wind turbines.
SATE 2
SATE 2 builds on phase one which created the UK’s first low-carbon aviation test centre embedded at a commercial airport. UHI continues its involvement, as a project partner, in developing a UK centre of excellence for sustainable regional aviation. SATE 2 also aims to establish an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hub-and-spoke delivery network, and will conduct demonstration flights of technologies including a hydrogen-electric regional aircraft and a drone flight from Scotland to Norway.
TRANSECTS
This four year project aims to to take an interdisciplinary approach to investigate how coastal communities experienced changes in energy transitions. Well known examples are the 19th century use of whale oil in lamps and the late 1970s offshore oil and gas boom. Our researchers at the UHI Archaeology Institute will delve into historical and archival research in conjunction with creative methodologies to explore present and past impacts of marine energy transitions.
Our team will explore previous experiences of these energy transitions including examining the shifts from non-renewable marine energy sources like whale oil in the 1800s to more sustainable renewable energy sources in the early-2000s. We will assess the raw energy sources and examine how nearby communities have been affected during these transitions investigating the fairness and equity of decisions made.