The American giant wants to occupy the space available between the turbines to grow… algae.
The wind energy sector is experiencing significant growth, and the trend is expected to continue in the years to come, given the news and political discourse. The space taken up by offshore parks is substantial, and some have found a very practical idea to make a double use of it.
A project that ticks several boxes
The North Sea Farm 1 project, led by a collective of Dutch seaweed producers and companies, will be a 10-hectare seaweed farm which will have the particularity of being located between wind turbines. It should be operational by the end of 2023 and will produce at least 6,000 kg of fresh seaweed in the first year.
Amazon is subsidizing the project to the tune of $1.5 million, but did not give details on the wind share itself. The synthetic images that the company has provided suggest that it would be a floating wind farm. This type of park seems to have a promising future by posting good yields while being relatively easy to install.
Seaweed farming also seems to have a bright future, as it fulfills several criteria which give it considerable advantages. These marine plants have a very high CO₂ absorption capacity, sometimes even much higher than that of the terrestrial environment for the same surface unit. In addition, they can be an important habitat for marine life and thus contribute to local biodiversity. Finally, algae are completely edible and their cultivation does not require pesticides, fertilizers or fresh water.
A promising future
The project promoters are thinking big and hope that it will become a model of seaweed cultivation that could be replicated on a large scale in the North Sea and other places. According to them, if all the space occupied in Europe by offshore wind farms were shared with algae cultures, it would be possible to absorb millions of tonnes of CO₂ per year.
In addition, algae can be collected all year round and used not only in the food sector, but also in cosmetics, biofuels and as fertilizer. Thus, Eef Brouwers, director of North Sea Farmers, says: “ Up to 85,000 full-time jobs in Europe’s seaweed industry could potentially be created by replicating North Sea Farm 1 across the North Sea “. Seaweed farmer, a job with a future?
Source : Electrek
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