On the 27th of May, some members of the NID4OCEAN project, based in the CSIC in Barcelona, along with researchers from the UPC, visited the construction site of the Leucate pilot offshore wind farm, located in the port of Port-La Nouvelle (France).
They had the chance to speak with Johana Jordi from Ocean Winds, Environmental Coordinator for the Éoliennes Flottantes du Golfe de Lion project (EFGL). The discussion focused on the environmental approach of the pilot project, the current progress at the port and the mitigation measures implemented to reduce the impact of the wind farm on the marine environment. Turbines are currently being assembled at the port and are scheduled to be deployed at sea in the coming weeks.
They also met with Gilles Lecaillon and Sébastien Fonbonne, from Ecocean, who are working on integrating several NIDs features into the pilot project. Biohuts (artificial habitats designed to enhance local marine biodiversity) will be installed on some of the floats within the offshore infrastructure. A biodiversity monitoring program will be carried out several times per year in the coming years to assess the effectiveness of these structures, identify which species are attracted, and evaluate their contribution to local biodiversity.
