A historical marker on the blue economy: the North Sea Farm 1, located between wind turbines in the North Sea, has harvested its first commercial crop of macroalgae. The project demonstrates the potential for co-location between renewable energy and marine aquaculture.

The North Sea Farm 1 made his the first collection of algae in the middle of the wind farm offshorein the North Sea. It is a cutting-edge design that combines the sustainable aquaculture the production of renewable energy, making it the first commercial use of algae in the sea that is installed in between the wind turbines in Europe.

Located within 18 miles off the coast of Holland, in the Netherlands , and the inside of a wind farm Hollandse Kust Zuid, this provides a new way to use the sea in an efficient, intelligent, and power.

Designed using 2022, with your cultivation, starting at the October 2024the project is supporting the production of seaweed as a solution to multi-functional: food, feed, fertilizer, and natural, which are the basis for a textile, and cosmetics, all of it without taking up agricultural land, drinking fresh water, or use artificial fertilizers.

The development of the North Sea Farm 1 is entrusted to the organization The North Sea Farmer, with the support of € 2 million from the Right Now Climate Fund from Amazon, part of a $100 million global initiative focused on climate and biodiversity projects.

The collection is comprised of five acres and used submerged nets measuring 50×3 meters, fixed to the seabed. The operation involved a specialized ship that collected the algae between turbines, in a clear demonstration of harmonious coexistence of aquaculture, energy infrastructure, offshore,.

During the whole process, and team science Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Deltares and Silvestrum Climate Associates followed the evolution of the estate by the monitoring, satellite channels, an analysis of eDNA samples and the sea, with the aim of assessing the impact on the environment, the potential for carbon sequestration and reproduction of marine biodiversity.

More than just a pilot, the North Sea Farm 1 is intended to serve as a replicable model of the european blue economy and promote a more sustainable use of the ocean , by exploring new ways to integrate food, conservation, and clean energy in a single eco-system.

This article has been developed, based on the contents published in The Blue Economy News, Simply Blue Group, - The Chemical Engineer and The North Sea Farmer.