Posted on July 9, 2025
A new study has found that dedicating just 1% of the global offshore wind investments from now until 2050 could fund the restoration of millions of square kilometres of marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, and oyster reefs.
Offshore wind farms not only deliver clean energy but can also play a vital role in restoring vulnerable ecosystems both above and below the waterline, including seabed habitats, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and coastal wetlands, a new study has concluded.
Each of these habitats are, of course, critical for biodiversity, fish populations, and climate resilience; crucial global nature goals that continue to slip out of reach due to a lack of funding and political will, including the UN target to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
The study was conducted by a diverse team of international researchers led by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. Now published in the journal BioScience, the study found that dedicating just 1% of the global offshore wind investments from now until 2050 could fund the restoration of millions of square kilometres of marine ecosystems.
Such ecosystems include coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, and oyster reefs.
“Offshore wind has unique opportunity to not only support the energy transition but also become the first marine industry to make a net-positive contribution to large-scale ecosystem restoration,” said the study’s lead author, Christiaan van Sluis (The Rich North Sea). “By embedding smart biodiversity requirements in offshore wind licensing and tendering procedures now, we can reverse biodiversity loss with just a fraction of the total investment.”
Restoring marine ecosystems will not only benefit plants and animals but people, too. Healthy seas and coastal habitats absorb carbon, protect shorelines, and support fish populations. According to the study, every dollar invested in ecosystem restoration can return $2 to $12 in societal benefits. This is especially relevant as the offshore wind sector is set to grow exponentially, from 56 gigawatts in 2021 to an estimated 2,000 gigawatts by 2050.
“If we structurally integrate marine restoration into this expansion, we can actually meet our biodiversity targets,” said Van Sluis.
Since publishing the paper, its authors have urged governments to make marine restoration a standard requirement in offshore wind policy. This includes mandating that a fixed percentage of project investments be allocated to marine biodiversity, through licensing conditions or non-price criteria in tendering.
“With the sector expanding rapidly, nature restoration should be structurally integrated into policy,” said the paper.
In this regard, the Netherlands, Denmark ,and the United Kingdom already have centralized tendering systems that are well-suited to include biodiversity criteria. An internationally coordinated and legally embedded approach would enable economies of scale, fair competition, and prevent marine ecosystems from falling victim to price-driven decision making.
The study – Financing marine restoration through offshore wind investments – was carried out under the Rich North Sea programme, an initiative by the two NGOs Natuur & Milieu (Nature & Environment) and the North Sea Foundation. The programme was established to investigate how offshore wind development can go hand-in-hand with marine nature enhancements.
Not all coastal biodiversity will be best adapted to navigating the development of offshore wind farms which makes the subject a nuanced one. In 2023, a team of German researchers published their study – Large-scale effects of offshore wind farms on seabirds of high conservation concern. Assessing the impact of offshore wind farms on Gaviidae (loons) in the German North Sea, the study found that the distribution and abundance of loons changed substantially from before to the period after the construction of the region’s offshore wind farm.
It found that loons populations plummeted by 94% within 1km of the offshore wind farm and by 52% within the 10km zone.
The study concluded that while renewable energies will be needed to provide a large share of our energy demands in the future, it will be necessary to minimise the costs in terms of less-adaptable species, to avoid amplifying the biodiversity crisis.
