Wind farms generate renewable energy, creating a safer climate critical for all nature to thrive.
They can also provide direct benefits to wildlife in the area where they are built. The introduction of wind farms into waters can create new habitat, known as the ‘artificial reef effect’.
A 2023 study from Aberystwyth University in the U.K. found that the deposits of rocks and boulders that protect the foundations of offshore wind turbines are creating new habitat for European lobsters.
“It [offshore wind farms] can actually attract animals and it can increase abundance and diversity.” Dr Claire Szostek, ecosystem services specialist from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory on the artificial reef effect.