The Crown Estate has partnered with expert organizations across the UK to initiate five projects designed to accelerate progress toward net zero while supporting marine and coastal ecosystems.
Backed by a £7.3 million investment under the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme (OWEC), the projects will address critical knowledge gaps regarding offshore wind farm impacts, develop mitigation solutions, and explore synergies between fisheries and renewable energy developments.
Led by groups such as the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the Scottish Government Marine Directorate, Historic England, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), these initiatives are part of The Crown Estate's broader £50 million commitment to OWEC.
This program, delivered in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Defra, seeks to streamline the deployment of offshore wind while advancing nature restoration goals.
One innovative project will scale up a low-impact scallop fishing technique using disco lights, which demonstrated a 500% increase in catch efficiency during trials. The initiative aims to show that static fishing methods could work effectively in areas like offshore wind farms and marine protected zones where mobile fishing is restricted.
Other projects will study biodiversity changes caused by offshore wind farms, improve underwater heritage data, test new environmental mitigation strategies, and analyze underwater noise in the Celtic Sea.
These efforts aim to create a robust evidence base to expedite the consenting process, enhance biodiversity, and balance the spatial needs of seabed users, enabling a more harmonious coexistence between renewable energy infrastructure and marine ecosystems.
