Last week, Founders Wave Crookes and Laura Robinson joined a global gathering of nearly 1000 scientists, developers, regulators, leaders and innovators at the 2025 Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts held in Montpellier. The conference focused on the impact of renewable wind energy on wildlife, with a central theme emerging from the discussions: how can we ensure that the essential expansion of renewable energy is truly nature-positive?
The Challenge: A Greener Grid and a Thriving Ecosystem
It's a challenge backed by over 30 years of science: large-scale offshore wind installations can lead to the displacement of seabird species. As our society rightly pushes for a massive increase in renewable energy to combat climate change, there is a parallel need to take positive, proactive action to mitigate these ecological impacts and enhance the marine environment wherever possible.
A Nature-Positive Solution: Cultivating Life Within the Turbines
Against this backdrop, we were proud to present SeaGrown's work as a direct, proven, and scalable solution. By deploying Kelpedo™ - our sustainable ocean health system using seaweed and shellfish, we can actively build and restore marine ecosystems, turning these areas into hubs of biodiversity supporting displaced seabirds.
Our Evidence: Four Years of Positive Impact
Based on meticulous data collection at our own offshore site in the North Sea, we have gathered clear evidence of this positive impact:
- A Safe Haven for Seabirds: Our site is proven to provide a rich and reliable feeding ground, attracting species like gannets, razorbills, and herring gulls – providing prey for adults and juveniles. It now functions as a 'Kittiwake Hotspot', supporting this protected species.
- Support for Marine Mammals: The thriving ecosystem and abundance of fish within our kelp forests also create valuable feeding opportunities for marine mammals, like the harbour porpoise, a species facing challenges from underwater noise from construction and operations.
Collaboration in Action
This work is not done in isolation. We were delighted to co-present at the conference with Umberto Binetti at the RWE stand, showcasing our winning collaboration from their Floating Offshore Wind Co-use Competition. This partnership, along with our work with other industry leaders including Samir Whitaker from Ørsted, demonstrates a clear and effective pathway for the renewable energy and marine restoration sectors to work together. It was fantastic to present our biodiversity data on our poster and discuss these findings with attendees from all over the world.
The future of sustainable offshore development lies in this kind of integration. By viewing renewable energy sites as opportunities for active ecosystem enhancement, we can build a truly green and blue economy, where generating clean power and restoring ocean health go hand-in-hand.
