Maps of faecal pellets deposition patterns around different conceptual floating MPV farms withing an existing OWF in the Belgian part of the North Sea

EcoMPV (Eco-designing Marine PhotoVoltaic installations) is a three years project (from October, 2022 to October, 2025) funded by the Belgian Energy Transition Fund. The project will deepen the knowledge about environmental challenges related to offshore PV installations, aiming at technical solutions to mitigate undesired consequences and maximize beneficial impacts. Knowledge gaps will be addressed about (1) altered underwater light field, hydrodynamics, pelagic biogeochemistry and primary production, (2) the artificial habitat provision for colonizing fauna and fish, and (3) effects on carbon fluxes and sequestration. Advice for eco-designing offshore PV installations, paving the way to its environmental licensing, will be formulated in the framework of this project. Five partners are involved in this project: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Ghent University (UGENT), Tractebel Engineering S.A. (Tractebel), Jan De Nul and Dredging International (DEME). Task 3.3 is part of the third work package of the project (WP3) entitled “effect of MPVs on carbon sequestration”. It aims to assess the areas of the seabed impacted by the deposition of faecal pellets due to the installation of MPVs within the Mermaid wind farm concession. This work provides a first estimate of the enrichment of organic carbon flux to the sediments due to the presence of colonizing organisms on the floaters. A 3D Lagrangian particle tracking model, OSERIT, is used for this work.

Report

Confidential Deliverable in the framework of the EcoMPV project.