New step in offshore wind research: field tests with mussels at sea

On 1 and 2 April, the field research within the Anemoi project started. Weather conditions were favourable, which allowed the installation at sea to run smoothly.

Through this Interreg North Sea project, partners study the impact of chemical emissions from offshore wind farms on ecosystems and aquaculture. ILVO designed special titanium cages for this purpose, in which mussels were placed. POM West Flanders coordinated the practical work and installed the cages at sea.

The installation followed a thorough preparation process. We defined the installation method, selected a suitable vessel and agreed on clear safety measures.

Five strategic locations

The mussel cages were installed at five locations in the Belgian part of the North Sea:

• two offshore wind farms

• two reference locations

• the Blue Accelerator zone off the coast of Ostend

  
  

The cages are attached to buoys and will remain at sea for about six weeks. After that, the mussels will be collected and analysed in the laboratory. This will help us understand whether coatings and corrosion protection on wind turbines affect their development.

Strong collaboration

This research is carried out in close cooperation with ILVO. For the offshore operations, we worked with VLOOT DAB, which provided the vessel and crew, and Jera Nex BP, the concession holder of the wind farms involved.