Efforts to get the US offshore wind industry off the ground have been slow and stumbling, partly on account of opposition from stakeholders in the fishing industry. That’s the bad news. On a brighter note, wind developers elsewhere are beginning to attract aquaculture stakeholders with opportunities for multi-use and co-located operations. If the trend takes hold, that could help deflect some of those fish-related slings and arrows.
“The pioneering convergence of wind power, photovoltaics, and aquaculture presents a new horizon for the industry to develop sustainable and green renewable solutions designed to reduce carbon emissions while boosting economic growth,” Shanghai Electric enthused.. In a post on LinkedIn, the company Mingyang Smart Energy announced that it has designed a jacket-type wind turbine foundation with an integrated fish cage.
MingYang estimates that its system can accommodate up to 150,000 fish in a body of water measuring 5,000 cubic meters. The new turbine is slated to be installed at the company’s 505-megawatt Mingyang Qingzhou 4 wind farm in the South China Sea, which is scheduled for commissioning in 2026.The Baltic and North seas are already crowded with offshore activity and maritime shipping routes.
In another interesting development, the offshore wind firm Simply Blue has teamed up with the Norwegian company Arctic Seaweed to explore how offshore wind service vessels could supportIn terms of offshore fish farms, co-location faces a double whammy in the US. Aside from opposition to the turbines themselves, offshore fish farming in the open ocean has been a virtual non-starter due to concerns over environmental impacts and the risk of releasing non-native species.