RWE has launched the SeaMe (Sustainable ecosystem approach in Monitoring the marine environment) project at its Kaskasi offshore wind farm off the German coast.
The company hopes to gain an understanding of the interactions between offshore wind farms and the ecosystem through the use of AI-based and CO2 minimizing monitoring technologies. Using the simultaneous collection of data and data management, the SeaMe project aims to enable RWE to consider the ecosystem as a whole.
One aim of the SeaMe project is to also monitor components of the marine ecosystems that are usually left out of conventional monitoring programmes, such as small phytoplankton and zooplankton, which play a vital role in feeding larger animals. In addition, a series of physical parameters such as temperature, salinity and oxygen will be measured to explain any possible changes in the distribution and abundance of species.
The joint project will investigate how innovative techniques can make monitoring less invasive compared to the current monitoring techniques, says the company. Whereas planes and ships are routinely used to monitor birds and mammals, SeaMe aims to replace these methods with a drone equipped with an AI-based camera system.
The project will also collect water samples and analyze them for environmental DNA. AI-based fish video monitoring will be performed using an autonomous underwater vehicle.
The three-year project will be carried out in collaboration with partners that include the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, BioConsult SH, the Danish company DHI and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. The plan is to share the results on a dedicated online public platform.
“As a global leading player in offshore wind, we feel responsible for building and operating our wind farms in harmony with nature,” says Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind.
“To deliver green electricity, we invest billions of euros annually in offshore wind. We are committed to expanding our portfolio in an environmentally friendly way. With this in mind, we have set ourselves ambitious sustainability targets and are making all efforts to find ways to improve. With the SeaMe project we are pioneering new techniques that will enable us to better understand the impact of offshore wind on the marine ecosystem.”
