A new campaign is underway off the north-east coast of Scotland this summer to see if the next generation of floating offshore wind farms could increase the productivity of the seas around the UK. The campaign brings together leading marine scientists from institutions across the UK including the universities of Liverpool, Bangor, East Anglia, Southampton and Hull; Marine Scotland, the Scottish Marine Science Society; and the National Oceanographic Centre.
Two research vessels, the Royal Research Vessel Discovery and the Bangor University Research Vessel Prince Madog , together with a fleet of underwater vehicles, will survey the waters around two floating wind farms, developed as prototypes, off the east coast of Scotland, namely: Kincardine, owned by Dragados and operated by Grupo Cobra; and Hywind, which is operated by Equinor. The scientists will look to see if additional turbulence and mixing, as tidal currents flow through these floating wind farms, can bring nutrients up from the depths for the plankton that live in the warm waters closer to the surface. Plankton is the base of the marine food chain, so increasing plankton production could benefit the biodiversity of the UK's seas and fisheries.
Over the last decade, offshore wind energy has become a major part of the UK's energy supply, and an industrial success story for the UK. In 2024, wind accounted for 30% of the UK's electricity generation, with more than half of that generation occurring offshore. But as the shallow seas, which are suitable for wind farms, start to fill up, the industry is looking further offshore to meet the UK's energy needs and help reach net zero.
The move further from the shore is challenging from an engineering point of view because the water is deeper, meaning that new floating wind technology needs to be developed, and now the United Kingdom is a world leader in that field.
Posted On: 04/08/2025
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