Nature inclusive design for Ecowende wind farm

Wind energy with nature at its heart

The Ecowende wind farm is 50 kilometres off the Dutch coast near Ijmuiden and will have 54 turbines. We supported their winning bid by providing our expertise in nature inclusive design and project management.

As a part of the project, there was a strong focus on ecological solutions and nature enhancements to minimise any negative effects construction and the lifetime of the structures may cause to the seabed. These solutions are not just for the marine mammals and other creatures, but also to provide a safe corridor for birds that may be affected by the large turbines.

Nature inclusive design for offshore wind farms

Being part of the bid team for this tender project meant we could contribute our expertise in identifying and assessing innovative ecological solutions. Our support included:

• drafting site-specific mitigation measures that would enhance the ecology of the area, setting a new ecological benchmark for future wind farm construction
• identifying knowledge gaps that need to be addressed
• coordination and management of the project, including documentation, and
• fine-tuning and review of the final bid 

The measures in the bid included increasing the space between each turbine to create a safe corridor for birds to fly through, using innovative techniques to build the turbine foundations that minimise the impact on marine mammals and other marine life, and creating natural reef structures on the seabed to boost the biodiversity of the area. 

The wind farm is also being built without subsidy, demonstrating how offshore wind is a feasible and sustainable source of renewable power. 

With our support, Shell and Eneco won the tender to build the offshore wind farm, which will be built by 2026. Once built, it will have an installed capacity of approximately 760MW, providing about 3% of the current Dutch electricity demand. 

Ecowende strives to establish a higher ecological standard for constructing and developing wind farms in the North Sea, with the goal of ensuring that offshore wind energy has a favourable impact on nature in the future.