Scientists reap unexpected benefits after implementing ‘wind park’ that could revolutionize energy production: ‘Huge potential’

Offshore wind farms could provide us with clean, renewable energy to power our homes. They could also provide us with delicious seafood, researchers in Denmark have shown.

Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall and Aarhus University in Denmark have joined forces to create the world’s first offshore wind farm that also doubles as an underwater seafood farm, Euronews reported.

The “wind park,” as its developers call it, is located in the Baltic Sea and has a capacity of more than 600 megawatts, which could power up to 600,000 homes in Germany and Denmark, according to Euronews. It has also just had its first harvest of seaweed, and fresh mussels will follow soon.

“Seaweed and mussels are low-trophy aquaculture plants, which means they can be grown without the use of fertilizers. They take nutrients from the sea and produce healthy food,” said project leader Aarhus University senior scientist Annette Bruhn in a Euronews report.

The impetus for the project was the recognition that space for developing new clean energy projects is limited – even offshore – and that any space available for development should be used as efficiently and productively as possible.

“There is increasing competition for space on land and at sea,” Bruhn added, according to Euronews. “We can, in one area, produce both fossil-free energy and food for a growing population.”

Clean energy advocates believe that by viewing wind farms as an opportunity for co-benefits, we can spur faster development and adoption of these energy sources.

Vattenfall’s Tim Wilms told Euronews there is “huge potential. We have so much untapped area in our turbines. In some areas it makes sense to combine them with sustainable food”, while in other areas “we could look at offshore solar”, effectively doubling clean energy production.

A similar project, combining an offshore wind and algae farm, is being implemented in the North Sea.

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