Minimisation of environmental, and optimisation of socio-economic impacts in the deployment, operation and decommissioning of offshore wind farms
• Deadline: 21 January 2025
Expected outcome:
If the project is on the first action 1) then the project results are expected to contribute to at least three of the outcomes a), b), and c). If the project is on the second action 2) then the project results are expected to contribute to at least two of the outcomes a), b), and d)
- Enhanced sustainability by addressing economic, social, and environmental aspects of offshore wind farms (a).
- Enhanced overall sustainability of large-scale production of offshore wind farms based on mainstreamed Life Cycle Analysis addressing social, economic, and environmental aspects, as well as improved circularity of offshore wind turbines (b).
- Improved understanding on the negative and positive impacts of offshore wind farms throughout their lifetime (c).
- Innovative and cost-effective solutions for the construction and decommissioning of offshore wind farms aiming also the minimisation of the potential impacts to biodiversity and protected species and habitats (d).
Scope:
The aim is to develop and promote the use of modeling tools and objective holistic assessment metrics for realistic in-depth analysis of (cumulative) impacts of wind installations on the environment and on the local communities and to integrate these in design tools for the deployment and decommissioning of offshore wind farms. It will also be necessary to find innovative solutions to minimise the environmental impact during all stages of the life cycle of offshore wind farms but especially for the construction and decommissioning phase. An assessment framework for installations is needed with nature- inclusive design options valuing ‘created habitats’ vs ‘natural habitats’.
