Title
Offshore Wind Energy and Marine Biodiversity in the North Sea: Life Cycle Impact Assessment for Benthic Communities
Author
Li, C.
Coolen, J.W.P.
Scherer, L.
Mogollon, J.M.
Braeckman, U.
Vanaverbeke, J.
Tukker, A.
Steubing, B.
Publication year
2023
Abstract
Large-scale offshore wind energy developments represent a major player in the energy transition but are likely to have (negative or positive) impacts on marine biodiversity. Wind turbine foundations and sour protection often replace soft sediment with hard substrates, creating artificial reefs for sessile dwellers. Offshore wind farm (OWF) furthermore leads to a decrease in (and even a cessation of) bottom trawling, as this activity is prohibited in many OWFs. The long-term cumulative impacts of these changes on marine biodiversity remain largely unknown. This study integrates such impacts into characterization factors for life cycle assessment based on the North Sea and illustrates its application. Our results suggest that there are no net adverse impacts during OWF operation on benthic communities inhabiting the original sand bottom within OWFs. Artificial reefs could lead to a doubling of species richness and a two-order-of-magnitude increase of species abundance. Seabed occupation will also incur in minor biodiversity losses in the soft sediment. Our results were not conclusive concerning the trawling avoidance benefits. The developed characterization factors quantifying biodiversity-related impacts from OWF operation provide a stepping stone toward a better representation of biodiversity in life cycle assessment. (C) 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
Subject
artificial reef
characterization factors
marine ecosystems
offshore wind farms
seabed occupation
species abundance
species richness
trawling avoidance
Biodiversity
Ecosystems
Electric utilities
Fisheries
Life cycle
Offshore oil well production
Reefs
Artificial reefs
Benthic communities
Characterization factors
Marine biodiversity
North Sea
Off-shore wind energy
Seabed occupation
Species abundance
Species richness
Trawling avoidance
Offshore wind farms
article
avoidance behavior
biodiversity
human
life cycle assessment
marine environment
North Sea
occupation
population abundance
quantitative analysis
sediment
species richness
wind farm
animal
ecosystem
life cycle stage
North Sea
Animals
Biodiversity
Ecosystem
Life Cycle Stages
North Sea
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c59846a4-4650-47ba-b4a2-89bcb8cecb55
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c07797
TNO identifier
985921
Publisher
American Chemical Society
ISSN
0013-936X
Source
Environmental Science and Technology, 1-10
Document type
article