Pilot programme launches for ecosystem restoration around wind farms

Together with the North Sea Foundation and the Natuur and Milieu organisation, Van Oord and Eneco are starting a unique project to restore natural underwater features around wind farms in the North Sea.

A pilot project at Eneco’s Luchterduinen wind farm will investigate how nature conservation and sustainable energy generation can reinforce one another.

The demonstration project aims to provide know-how and possibly a blueprint for underwater nature restoration at all offshore wind farms, so that it can become standard when constructing new wind projects.

Numerous big new wind farms are planned for the Dutch sector of the North Sea in the coming years. With the new project, the team aims to show that nature conservation and energy generation can be mutually beneficial.

In addition to this project, Van Oord is also preparing an oyster project at the Borssele V innovation site, to increase its understanding of how to speed up the recovery of oysters in the North Sea, something Van Oord believes is very important for improving biodiversity there.