Stakeholders Wary of Partial Decommissioning of Offshore Wind Farms

The earliest wind farms installed in the EU are coming to the end of their planned 20-30-year lifespans.

Current guidance, such as Article 60(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the OSPAR Commission’s Decision 98/3, indicates that decommissioning should involve the complete removal of all seabed installations. This is also specified in national law in some territories.

However, there is ongoing debate over the potential advantages of partial removal, leaving some structures on the seabed. Benefits of partial decommissioning might include reduced costs, preservation of ecosystems that have developed around artificial structures, and prevention of future activities that disturb the seabed, such as trawling or dredging.

A study conducted by researchers from Wageningen Marine Research in the Netherlands highlights the need for clear regulations and defined liabilities so that the best options for decommissioning can be considered in advance, rather than close to when it is due to take place. However, the researchers also acknowledge that today’s preferred decommissioning methods may become obsolete, and change depending on societal attitudes and ecological findings.

In the Netherlands, two offshore wind farms are due to be decommissioned in the near future: Egmond Aan Zee (by 2027) and Prinses