The Rich North Sea: Looking for a Sustainable Blueprint

A new covenant called 'The Rich North Sea' (De Rijke Noordzee) brings together several companies working to connect two of the major challenges of our time: ensuring sustainable energy and enhancing underwater biodiversity. Tennet, Eneco, van Oord, Blauwwind, Ørsted, Nature & Environment and De Noordzee Foundation all signed The Rich North Sea covenant at the Norwegian office of the National Postcode Lottery.

The parties, who all have an important relationship with the North Sea, share a common goal: a healthy North Sea, a source of sustainable energy, with robust natural habitats full of life. Under the agreement, wind farms in the North Sea would be used as nurseries for underwater life.

The first demonstration project will provide know-how and contribute to a blueprint for underwater nature restoration at all offshore wind farms, so that this can soon become standard when constructing new wind farms. Numerous big new wind farms are planned for the Dutch sector of the North Sea in the coming years. The partners aim to show that nature conservation and sustainable energy generation can be mutually beneficial. The Parties support the program by, among other things, setting up nature enhancement projects, installing artificial reefs, making ships available, or conducting or enabling scientific research.

“A strong collaboration between the wind sector and nature organizations will stimulate innovation on the seabed in wind farms with the ultimate goal of a healthy North Sea,"said Erwin Coolen, Director De Rijke Noordzee.

The Rich North Sea: where wind and nature reinforce each other

The Rich North Sea program aims to strengthen natural eco systems in and around North Sea wind farms on a large scale for the first time. Natural reefs have virtually disappeared there due to human intervention and diseases. But fishing is not allowed on the bottom of the wind farms in the North Sea. By developing new living reefs right there, places are created for shellfish to attach to. This creates habitat that can give nature in the North Sea a "kickstart". The Rich North Sea will implement such nature projects in both existing and yet to be built wind farms in the coming years.