Offshore wind farms may do more than boost renewable energy: they might support marine ecosystems, too. That’s the takeaway of a new study conducted in China. The researchers found that wind turbines provided support for colonies of oysters and barnacles and that fish species and biomass were more abundant near the turbines than they were in an area without the machines.
Because these organisms were able to grow and thrive on and around the turbines, predatory fish followed the food, boosting the ecosystem’s diversity and stability overall, said James Tweedley, a senior lecturer at Murdoch University in Australia and a co-author of the study, in a recent statement.
