Offshore Windfarms
Offshore windfarm alpha ventus in the German Bight
Through the Renewable Energy Sources Act the Federal German Government established a legal basis for fostering energy production from renewable sources. A major step in this context is generation of electrical energy from wind power. Extensive offshore wind farms comprising several thousand wind turbines are to be set up in the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Sea for this purpose in the coming decades. Due to lack of experience with this new form of industrial use of the North Sea thus far, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation urges a responsible approach to further development of offshore wind energy as well as comprehensive scientific investigations of the possible consequences for the marine environment.
Research platform Fino I in the German Bight
Together with partners the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research has been conducting research on the impacts of offshore wind energy facilities on the marine environment on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for years. At the FINO 1 research platform as well as at the first German offshore wind farm in the North Sea, alpha ventus, it has been shown that the foundations of the offshore wind turbines are, on the one hand, settled by numerous organisms while, on the other hand, they change the surrounding seafloor and the inhabiting communities of organisms. The findings obtained serve as a database for modelling species distribution patterns and supporting authorities, environmental organisations and decision-makers in developing an environmentally sound offshore wind industry.
