Thomassen et al (2025) Case-dependent impacts of offshore wind farms on ecosystems: A systematic review and meta-analysis Ocean & Coastal Management
This comprehensive review shows that the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms vary strongly depending on the activity, species and local conditions, rather than being uniformly positive or negative. The strongest and most consistent negative impacts were found for seabirds and marine mammals, mainly due to noise during construction and displacement during turbine operation. At the same time, the presence of wind farm foundations often creates new hard-bottom habitats, which can have neutral or even positive effects on benthic fauna and some bottom-associated fish species. Importantly, the study highlights major knowledge gaps, as only about one third of all possible ecosystem interactions have been scientifically studied, with very limited evidence on cumulative effects, decommissioning, cable impacts and fisheries exclusion. Overall, the findings underline the need for case-by-case, ecosystem-based marine management, ensuring that offshore wind expansion, fisheries and biodiversity objectives are balanced using evidence rather than assumptions
